Puppies on the way!

It’s official! Harmony is pregnant! She had her ultrasound on Christmas Eve morning and the vet counted seven puppies under development. That is a great number – she had seven with her first litter, so she’s being consistent!

Harmony - the mama

Hugo Nico - the papa

 These pups could come in any colour or pattern – cream, chocolate, or black, in solid, parti, phantom or tri-colour. Harmony is black parti and carries phantom, while Hugo Nico is cream (invisible phantom – i.e. he has the genetics for phantom colouring but because his coat colour is cream it’s not expressed) and carries parti. We loved the pups Harmony and Hugo Nico produced with their first mating , so we decided to repeat it. Her first litter in June produced two caramel parti pups, one black parti, two solid black, one chocolate parti tricolour, and one black parti tricolour. This litter is likely to be similar.

Pascal Cirilla
from Harmony & Hugo's June litter

Aristotle
from Harmony & Hugo's June litter

Herschel Harley
from Harmony & Hugo's June litter

Harmony’s due date is 22 January 2017. Last June she gave birth one day before her due date, so we expect these pups to arrive around Jan 20-21. If you are interested, send us an email (roma@dragonramdoodles.com) and we will send you an application form. We will be accepting up to 5 deposits on this litter (and may either keep or sell one or two pups as breeders).

Happy puppy dreams!

Doodle Romp coming up!

The next DragonRam doodle romp is taking place this coming Sunday, 11 September, at 4pm at the usual location (DragonRam HQ). While the forecast is currently calling for a cooler day than we've been having recently (22 degrees) with a 60% chance of rain, we are hoping the rain takes a break for the hour we will be out. We are hoping for a good turnout! 

P.S. September 11 is Ethiopian New Year - the first day of the year 2009 according to the Ethiopian calendar!! 

The latest news

Okay, so I'm behind in my updates!!

The last two of Harmony's puppies both found homes. Levy went to his family on 20 August and Aristotle on 27 August. 

So now we have just Galena's puppies, which are growing like weeds! They turned six weeks old yesterday, so the next three weeks will be the eventful ones. We microchipped them yesterday. Wednesday of next week they are having their temperament assessment in the morning and going for vaccinations and checkup in the afternoon. The following weekend (Sep 16-18) will be puppy selection time for our families. Then Wed 21 they will be neutered and ready to head for homes as of Sep 23. 

Six of these puppies have been reserved, and we expect to place one or two as breeders, so might have one or none left depending on the breeding prospects. 

Both Phoenix's and Harmony's litters had a couple pups that were quite noisy and demanding, but this litter seems much quieter. They do whine a bit when they are hungry or want attention, but none of them get too loud about it. That is nice for us when we want to sleep in a bit of a weekend!! Of course, now that school is in there won't be as much sleeping in happening, especially not on weekdays for the kids!!

Two puppies ready to go!

Five of Harmony's seven puppies have already gone or will soon go to their new homes. But the two black boys are still waiting for homes. (Sad to say, but black puppies are often harder to place than others.)

I am offering a $100 discount to anyone who takes one of these puppies by Sunday 21 August - so just $2300 (plus HST - yes, as of this summer we have had to start feed the govt...). 

We have:

DragonRam Levy 

black with a tiny white spot on his chest 

and white toe-tips

Thoughtful, Independent, Gentle

Levy is a cautious boy who enjoys exploring his environment slowly with his mouth. He takes his time to bond to a new human, but once he does, he will check in regularly with his people, and will benefit from an owner who encourages him to continue these behaviours. 

DragonRam Aristotle

black with white toetips on one paw

Cautious, Gentle, Patient
Aristotle is a sensitive pup who will explore his environment slowly by bumping his nose against objects and people. He takes time to bond to a new human but once he does he becomes more engaging and interactive. He will benefit from a safe space with regular routines and a familiar environment. He will respond poorly to harsh correction. He has a low-average energy level. 

Six weeks old! (Harmony's pups)

Well, Harmony's babies are now six weeks old! We are seeing definite personalities in them by now - feisty and playful for some, quiet and subdued for one or two. All are happy, healthy, growing well. 

The next two weeks will be eventful for these babies. Next Wednesday, 3 August, they will be assessed for temperament. That is fun for us and, we hope, for them - it's a chance to see how they react to a new person (the dog behaviourist) in a new environment (our basement, where they've never been before). We will get the results of the assessment on Friday, and then over the next two days the prospective families will come and select their puppy. 

Then on Monday 8 August they visit the vet for the first time, for a check0-up and vaccinations. Three days later, on 11 August, they will be neutered. Then just two or three days after that, they will head home to begin life with their new families!

As of today we still have two puppies available, but we expect another will likely be reserved today or tomorrow, leaving just one. We keep getting new inquiries almost every every day! By the time comes for puppy allocation - in just 9 days! - I expect they will all be spoken for. (But five of Galena's eight pups are still available - they are now four days old.)

We have MORE puppies!

Well, Galena did it again! Last November our vet had counted six pups on the ultrasound but she gave us six. Now, I am very pleased to announce that Galena surprised us in the wee hours of Sunday morning by giving birth to EIGHT beautiful babies, rather than the seven our vet had counted at the end of June. Cumin is the sire to this litter as he was to the last.

We have:

Puppy #1: male, 201g, caramel, born at 12:38am (Qibli)

Puppy #2: male, 238g, chocolate silvered phantom, born at 12:56am (Apex)

Puppy #3: female, 187g, light caramel, born at 01:21 (Mica)

Puppy #4: male, 255g, chocolate with white chest, born at 01: 49 (Bruno)

Puppy #5: female, 209g, chocolate phantom, born at 02:06 (Brooke)

Puppy #6: male, 250g, very pale cream, born at 02:53 (Zeus)

Puppy #7: female, 233g, solid chocolate, born at 03:17 (Piper)

Puppy #8: male, 221g, dark caramel/red, born at 03:22 (Flame)

So yes, my daughter Tristan and I had a pretty sleepless night, getting to bed around 4am (once we were sure she was done) and sleeping in until around 11.

This means that the winner of the Guess How Many Puppies contest is Catherine, who guessed eight puppies with the first born on 24 July at 3:00pm. When she submitted her guess, I remember thinking “24 July? No way, that’s way too early!” So much for my assumptions! In fact, Galena had been scheduled to come to us the afternoon of July 24, but her Guardians called up mid-Saturday asking if they could bring her over that evening as they didn’t think she would last until Sunday afternoon. Were they ever right!

Three of these puppies are already reserved, leaving five available. If you know anyone who is thinking of getting a puppy, send them our way!

Pregnancy confirmed!!

Galena had her ultrasound yesterday afternoon. We are happy to announce that YES!! We are expecting more puppies!!

The vet counted (most likely) seven little active healthy pups - give or take one.

Galena is due the week of July 25. So far we have a reservation for one of her puppies, so there are still lots available - but that is likely to change quickly enough. 

Here is the list of puppy guesses on her Guess How Many Puppies contest. We have a number of likely finalists - remains to be seen when the first pup arrives to determine the final winner. 

Name	# of puppies	date/time
Martin	4	28 July 14:30
Janet B	5	26 July, 19:20
Adrienne TC	5	27 July, 16:30
Melissa B	5	27 July, 17:00
Suzie Baril	5	27 July 18:15
Jennifer O	5	28 July 15:00
Barbara B	5	28 July, 23:00
Emma P	6	25 July, 17:00
Susan CB	6	26 July, 13:42
Sarah P	6	26 July, 16:30
Suzanne	6	28 July, 16:45
Tristan	7	27 July, 21:00
Amélie L TC	7	27 July, 17:30
Patrice P	7	27 July, 19:07
Karen P	7	28 July, 14:00
Joséphine L TC	7	28 July, 15:00
Monica	7	28 July, 16:00
Catherine C	8	24 July, 15:00
Katie GM	8	25 July, 16:00
Laurent L TC	8	28 July, 19:30

One (and a half) week old!!

The puppies are growing well. Some of their eyes are starting to crack open - right on time at the 10-day mark yesterday! By next weekend all the eyes and ears should all be pretty much open, though vision (and hearing) stays fuzzy for a while as the brain learns to interpret what the eyes take in. 

My original estimate of these puppies' size - based stricly on parent weights - was that they could be from 20-40 lbs, as Harmony is 20 but Hugo is closer to 40. However, I am revising that estimate downward now, based on the pups' birth weights and growth patterns to date. I'd say some may be below 20 lbs, and likely 30lbs at the high end. They weren't the smallest pups we've ever had - fiarly average - but are gaining weight at a slower rate than Phoenix's did!!

So far two of these pups are reserved, with continuing interest coming in. I'm sure they'll all be taken by the beginning of August!!

Here are some pictures: 

We have a winner!

If you recall, nobody (except me) guessed the right number of puppies for Harmony, so I converted it into a “Guess when the first one will arrive” contest.

The winner of this version is…

Katie GM, mama to Whiskey (from Topaz’s 2015 litter), who is an uncle to these pups!

Katie, you will soon find a $10 Timmy’s card winging your way through Canada Post. Raise an ice cap to these puppies

Ready to go home!

Okay, I missed the Tuesday announcement. What can I say – it’s been busy.

Here it is… (drum roll, please):

Our puppies are excited to join their families:

• Kinoko Ivy – Lai family in Ottawa
• Tazman Peanut – Cook family in Montreal
• Ash – Urback family in Toronto
• Cooper Indigo – Ramesh family in Markham
• Poppy Jasmine – Daigeler family in Ottawa
• Lavender – Okhrimtchouk family in Ottawa

The pups will join their new families over the weekend (just one or two more sleeps!) – four on Saturday and two on Sunday. Then we’ll move Harmony’s babies into the puppy corner and start all over again!

Happy puppy dreams!

Harmony's babies have arrived!

Harmony came to stay with us after the Doodle Romp last Sunday, in preparation for the birth of her first babies.

We monitored her temperature over the next few days, as a drop in temperature for a 12-hour period signals that delivery will take place within the next 24 hours. The drop was noted on Wednesday evening. Also, when delivery is imminent the mamas start to engage in “nesting” behaviour – digging at the blankets in the whelping box, trying to make a nice place for their pups. (And they might start to pee a lot…) This started happening Wednesday night – she was pawing at the blankets in the whelping box and generally acting rather restless. Then she didn’t eat her food on Thursday morning – a good sign she’s into labour.

We arranged to “tag-team” it for most of the day. I was home until 9am, then my son came home after his physio appointment (skipping school!) to stay with her until noon; then my daughter came home over lunch and her first afternoon period, heading back to school for last period at 2:00. I intended to come home right after my meeting ended at 2:30, hoping to be home by 3:00 but the meeting ended up going until a bit after 3 so my son got home again before I did. That meant she was alone for a bit over an hour. Grandpa was supposed to keep an eye on her during that time, but he fell asleep on the sofa. Of course Harmonychose that time to start delivering. By the time my son got home from school, two of the pups had already arrived, and he was just in time to catch the third. I got home just in time for #4.

We have

• Puppy #1: 2:06pm (appx), solid black male with a tiny white spot on his throat, 335g
• Puppy #2: 2:33pm (appx), gold parti female, 299g
• Puppy #3: 3:18pm, black parti tricolour male, 254g
• Puppy #4: 3:45pm, chocolate parti tricolour male, 287g
• Puppy #5: 4:11pm, red parti female, 235g
• Puppy #6: 4:32pm, solid black male, 295g
• Puppy #7: 5:08pm, black parti female, 285g

Harmony and Hugo, you make some amazing puppies!

These pups are all a good size – but not quite as huge as Phoenix’s (with the slight exception of the first one).

Babies and mama are all doing just fine.

And so the newest adventure begins!

Puppy allocation

So, the big day is upon us!! The puppies went through their assessment on Thursday and we received the write-ups yesterday. I spent the evening poring over the assessments and the families’ application forms to make the best matches possible. Over the course of today and tomorrow, the families will come and spend time with the two puppies we are recommending for each family. They will have to pick the one they think will suit them best. Not easy!!

By Tuesday I should be able to announce which pup is going to which family. There will be a last few days of waiting to get through, and then you will be able to take your puppy home!!!

Happy puppy dreams!

Last Call - Guess When Pups will Arrive (Harmony)

This is a reminder to get your guesses in to me for when Harmony’s first puppy will arrive.

The deadline for guesses is Monday 13 June at noon.

Send in your name and the date/time you think the first puppy will arrive (likely between 14-20 June, some time in the afternoon or evening).

Happy puppy dreams!

Upcoming Doodle Romps

Our next Doodle Romp will be next Sunday, June 12, at 4:00pm. If you haven’t already RSVPed, do so now so we know whom to expect. I hope the weather holds out and we have a nice sunny day – the May Romp was pretty darn cold, but since then we’ve been having better weather. Phoenix's puppies will probably join us on the romp, as they will be 7½ weeks old. 

           

For the summer, the Romps will be on:

Sunday 10 July at 4:00 (Phoenix’s pups will be gone, and Harmony’s should be around 3 weeks old)

Sunday 7 August at 4:00 (Harmony’s pups should be able to join us as they will be about 7.5 weeks old!)

Sunday 11 September at 4:00 (Harmony’s pups will be gone, but Galena’s pups might come, as they will be about six weeks old)

All the upcoming Romps will be on Sundays, as my son has soccer games on Saturday afternoons until the end of October!

Hope you can join us!

Six weeks old!

Phoenix’s babies are now six weeks old!! They are still super cute! Now that they have lots of pokey little teeth in their mouths, Phoenix is not so keen to nurse them because it hurts!! We have already been feeding them puppy food for a few weeks, to supplement the milk they get from mama and to get them used to eating out of a dish. At first, before their teeth came in, it was mushed up puppy food (kibble soaked in water). By now, we are just giving them straight puppy food, as they have teeth to crunch it with. They already know the sound of the food dish hitting the floor! When it gets put into the puppy corner, they all come running!

They are a lot more work for us now that they are this old. When they were little, mam would clean up after them. (In fact, when they are first born they can’t pee or poop on their own – mama licks them to stimulate them, and that makes them do their business. It’s a good way to keep the whelping box clean!!) Now that they are big and rambunctious, and eating a lot more, mama doesn’t do that any more, or not very much. So they do their business on the floor and we are the ones who have to clean up. We set out pee pads and they are pretty good at going on the pads, though they definitely do have misses. Dog poo is quite stinky (a lot stinkier than cat poo, for some reason), so we try to pick it up whenever we smell some. Thankfully, with the warm spring weather we can keep windows open too, to help keep the smell down. Over the next couple weeks we will start sending them outside and encouraging them to do their business there.

The next two weeks will be a time of big changes for them. First they will have their first doctor’s appointment, then get assessed for temperament, have surgery to get neutered, and then go to new homes. Wow! What an exciting (and kind of sc

Guess How Many Puppies - Galena edition

Since Galena has been bred, we can open up another edition of the Guess How Many Puppies contest – this time for Galena.

I hope that people will be somewhat more adventurous with their guesses, so we actually have a correct number guess! Galena’s first litter was six, her second was eight, and her third was six. So I’d say guesses of 5, 6, 7 or 8 would all be in line. (Possibly also 4 and 9, though less likely.) Remember, each member of a family can enter their own guess, so Mom could guess 5, kid #1 could guess 6, Dad could guess 7 and kid #2 could guess 8 (for example) to spread out your chances of winning. (Of course, the winner might need to take the whole family out to Timmy’s to celebrate…)

To the number of puppies, you need to add your best guess as to the date and time that the first puppy will be born (to pick the winner among all those that guess 8, for example). As I noted in my last post, her actual due date is July 26, but she tends to be two or three days early, so July 23 or 24 might be good dates to guess. But then, she took her time going into heat this time (eight months instead of six or seven) and once she was in heat, she didn’t “ripen” for ten days (as opposed to four) so who knows, she might be our first dog to whelp after her due date. (Ha ha! Just to keep things exciting.) In which case guesses of 27 or 28 might be apt!! All her first pups have arrived in the afternoon.

So, guess away!! You have until the date of her ultrasound (likely around June 24) to submit your guesses.

Galena bred

Our girl Galena (mama to Angel, Nellie, Matilda, and lots of other lovelies) went into heat on May 15. Since she usually “ripens” pretty quick, we tested her hormone levels on May 19 but she was still really low. We retested on May 24 and found she was pretty much ready.

Galena and Cumin honeymooned together, and now we are expecting another 2016 litter! Her due date will be around July 26, and these puppies will be ready for new homes the last weekend in September. The pups will be chocolate (solid or phantom) and caramel. They will be full siblings to Fozzie, Cooper, Charlie-Peeta, and Charlie-Evrial in Ottawa, and Kobe and Romeo in Toronto.

Stay tuned!

Guess How Many Puppies - Harmony edition

Those of you on my mailing list (our puppy families) should have seen the news about Harmony’s ultrasound: she is expecting SEVEN babies!! (Possibly just six, but the vet was pretty sure there were seven.)

We run a “Guess How Many Puppies” contest whenever one of dams gets pregnant, and require guesses to be submitted before the ultrasound is done. Well, this time, nobody guessed the right number! Everybody guessed 4, 5 or 6 - no one guessed 7!!

So I decided – since we need to have a winner – that I would convert this one into a Guess When the Puppies Will be Born contest. So the person  who guesses the date and time closest to the arrival of the first puppy will win the prize (a $10 Timmy’s or Chapters card). Seeing as the birth is not due for another roughly three weeks, those of you who have not yet submitted a guess may do so up until June 13 at noon. The actual “due” date is June 17, with the actual whelping (birth) date likely to be within three days plus or minus that date. (Our dogs to date have all been early or right on time; we haven’t had any late whelps). Plus almost all have started to arrive between about 2:30pm and midnight.

Send your guesses to me at roma@dragonramdoodles.com.

(I would invite the students in San Diego to participate, if you want to. Have your teacher make a list of with your first name and your guess, like “Elena – June 17 at 3:30pm.” Your teacher can send the list to me by email. If one of you wins, since you don’t have Chapters or Timmy’s down in the US, I will mail a $10 bill to your school and your teacher can give it to winner. Sound good?)

Happy puppy dreams!

Almost five weeks old!

Once again – I meant to do a “one month old” post on Saturday, but life (and warm weather) overtook me…

So here we are, turning five weeks old tomorrow! They are are real little puppies now, not just toddling but walking and running. They stick close to Momma or to us, their people, and have started playing with each other and with the adventure box that we placed in their pen over the weekend. (For those of you who haven’t seen it, it’s a cube formed of plumbing pipe with objects of various types (paintbrushes, stuffed toys, plunger heads, etc) hung from the top to give the puppies exposure to different sensations of sight, sound, and texture).

We took them outside to our lawn and to the big field over the weekend, for their experience in the grass (and dandelions!). They were a bit nonplussed at first, but quickly adapted, bouncing around over the grass blades, attacking the dandelions, and getting worn out by the sun. As I noted, they stuck pretty close to us, not wandering off too far – they’ll do more of that as they get older, braver and more experienced with the outdoors.

In just two weeks they will have their first vaccinations, followed by the temperament assessment two days later, on June 9. We will go through the allocation process over the following weekend (june 11-12) . They will be neutered on June 15, and as long as all goes well those first two days, we will send them hom on June 17-19. So – for those of you waiting for a puppy – she or he will be home with you in just over three weeks!!

I’d like to give a shout out to the Grade 1 students in San Diego (in particular Eleni), who are following along to see which of these puppies goes to Catherine (the neice of Eleni’s penpal Jane). Thanks for following along on this adventure! You will find out which puppy is the lucky one around June 12 or 13 (I’ll try to post an update in a timely fashion!).

Happy puppy dreams to all!

FIVE years old!!

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

Wow!! I can't believe it - FIVE years old already! In some respects, it seems like we've only been breeding pups for a short time, but here it is well over five years already.

Mama Garnet

The most special thing about this litter is that they were born on my daughter's birthday, back when she was still a little kid in primary school. (Well, okay, not so little, but compared to now...!) 

As I recall, we had hoped for some black phantoms in this litter, but weren't so lucky. But Gatsby was a lovely silvered black, and Coronoa had the cutest white paws. 

We get to see Cassie and Lyra a couple times a year when they join us on a Doodle Romp, and Ziggy has come on occastion, too, when his family is here from Montreal visiting his human big sister. 

We wish you all a great year six!

Two and a half weeks old!

As usual, I’m slow on the updates – though Tristan has managed to post new photos on Facebook a couple times. But here we go!

The pups are doing just dandy – growing like weeds! They are starting to toddle around, getting their feet under them more and more every day. Their eyes opened over the last 4-5 days, so they now look like real pups, too, with beautiful gorgeous gazes.

They continue to be among the biggest pups we’ve ever had. I updated my weight chart on Sunday morning and did a quick comparison to our other pups. The smallest of these pups is similar in weight to Galena, Matilda, Moose, and PJ at the same age. Just to show how non-predictive weight at this age can be: Galena matured to about 20 lbs, while PJ matured to almost 50 lbs! Matilda is in-between, at about 28 lbs I think. Moose is not quite six months old, so he’s still growing, and I’m not sure how heavy he is now. I should note that Galena was from a litter of 3, so the pups had room to grow more in the womb and it’s perhaps not surprising that Galena didn’t mature to a huge dog. These pups are six (like Matilda, Moose, with PJ one of five), so having squished together in the womb, these pups are likely to be more in line with Matilda and Moose’s mature weights (30-40 lbs). At the top end of these pups’ scale, the only pup we’ve had who was a comparable weight at this age is Oscar Apollo, I’m not sure how big he matured to, but I think in the order of 40lbs.

Anyhow, we will continue to monitor weights, feed Phoenix all she can eat (!), and give them lots of love and stimulation. In a couple weeks, we will probably take them outside on fine days and let them experience the outdoors – but that is still to come.

Happy Mother's Day!

 Happy Mother’s Day to all our Mamas out there!

Amore- Mom to 16

• Rusty Diamond, Tory Peridot, Garnet, Boomer Opal
• Sapphire, Zircon, Frisou Carnelian, Oliver Jasper
• Galena Magnolia, Teddy Malachite, Goldie (deceased)
• Obsidian, Banjo Cinnibar, Pearl, Topaz, PJ Peppermint Jade

Garnet – Mom to 11:

• Cassie Cassiopeia, Gatsby Antares, Corona, Lyra, Zigzag HeliosScarlett, Lily Cardinal, Galaxy, Penelope Nightingale, Leo, Arial

Galena – Mom to 20:

• Oscar Apollo, Cupcake Kiera, Hershey Crispin, Tara Firefly, Matilda Nubia, Kacey Lunette
• Holly Delilah, Nellie Serena, Maggio Clio, Baloo Lukos, Hazel, Bo Skylax, Angel Ophelia, Maui Tigris
• Romeo, Fozzie Snoopy, Charlie Peeta, Cooper Finnick, Charlie Evrial, Kobe Moose

Phoenix – Mom to 12:

• Tobey Lupin, Cumin Chino. Nelly Iris, Marley Juniper, Katniss Alice, Chewy Zurr
• Ivy, Peanut, Ash, Indigo, Jasmine, Lavender

Topaz – Mom to 11:

• Rusty Rococo, Harmony, Darwin Caprice, Nocturne (still-born), Brio, Sheeva Piccolo
• Chewie Marley, Rover Kanye, Whiskey Reed, Rosie Clarkson, Jackson

Harmony – soon to be a Mom as well!

Garnet's baby Arial, from her second litter, was sold to Scotia Doodles and has had a couple litters there, meaning Garnet, age 6 1/2, is a grandma too!

Galena’s baby Kiera was sold to Barksdale Labradoodles in Mississippi and has had a couple litters for them, so Galena, age 5, is also a grandma.

Phoenix’s boy Cumin was sire to Galena’s third litter, so Phoenix, age 4, is paternal grandma to those six babies (and Amore is their maternal grandma)!

Topaz, age 4, is grandma to Harmony’s puppies-to-be, which are expected to arrive in mid-June!

And Amore, age 8, mom to Garnet, Galena and Topaz, is obviously Grandma to all their puppies and great-grandmas to all their grand-puppiws!

No flowers or chocolate for these mamas - but we'll give ours lots of snuggles and a good long walk!