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.)

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

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!

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!

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!

Guess How Many Puppies

If you were paying attention, you'll have noticed that there was no "Guess How Many Puppies" contest for Phoenix. I just didn't get my act together in time before the ultrasound. Then I considered just having a "Guess when they'll arrive" contest, but it was too much like work...!! However, a bit of anticipation was wanting when Phoenix went into labour - the sense of just waiting on tenterhooks to see who would win...

So we're having one for Harmony. 
Here are the rules: Send me your guess including (1) how mny puppies you think Harmony will have, and (2) the date and time of birth of the first pup (to determine a winner since lots of people guess the same number). Whoever has the right number of pups and is closest to the actual date/time of arrival of pUPPY #1 wins a $10 Timmy's card. 

Harmony

 Harmony ovulated on 15 April, so nine weeks later would put it at 17 June. A dam can give birth within 3 days, plus or minus, of the due date. We've usually found them to be 1-4 days in advance. Don't think I've have a dam go later. (If you were that round and heavy, would you?) And most of our girls (with the exception of Topaz) prefer odd numbers. Out of 13 litters, we've had 10 born on odd-numbered days. The most popular time of day is between about 3 and 11pm. We've had one litter born around 4-6am, and a few as early as 2-2:30, but nothing outside those hours. The most popular number is six. (We've had one litter of 2; two litters of 4; three litters of 5; six litters of 6, and one litter of 8.)

So guess away!! Guesses must be submitted by midnight of the day on which Harmony has her ultrasound, which isn't scheduled yet but is likely to be around 16-18 May.

Harmony bred

So, I mentioned a couple weeks ago that Harmony was in heat. We tested her progesterone; she was in early pro-estrus (not quite ready to breed). We tested her two days later - her levels had gone down instead of up. Tested her again three days after - they were even lower, at "non-heat" levels! What the flip? So I decided before giving up, I'd wait a bit longer and do a final test, and voila! She was ovulating.

Harmony the beautiful

 So on Sunday, 17 April, she and Hugo had a date. They were both virgins, but Hugo knew exactly what to do (even though he's not yet 8 months old!!). It only took half an hour and the job was done. I'd hd a semen evaluation done on Hugo, since under eight months one can't be positive a boy has the goods, yet, but he tested out with flying colours! My vet was impressed at how easy he was to collect. 

Hugo when he was a pup!

 Counting nine weeks from ovulation, these pups are due to arrive around June 17 - the same weekend that Phoenix's pups will be ready to head home! Means we won't have much overlap, which is okay. 

We are still waiting for Galena to go into heat. Since Harmony was early, I'm just fine with Galena being late, as - again - we prefer not to overlap litters too much as we only have so much space. I'm thinking as long as she's in heat by mid-May it will be fine; we'll still have summer puppies and they can home while it's still early fall, with enough time for house-training before winter sets in. 

Gorgeous Galena

It's gonna be a puppy-filled summer!!

More puppies (soon to be) on the way!

Well, our girl Harmony just came into heat this past weekend. This is almost a month earlier than I had anticipated, but no problem, we'll work it out. 

I had hoped to use our new stud boy, Hugo, with her, but he may be too young. We're testing his semen quality Wednesday morning, along with a progesterone test for Harmony to check whether she's ready yet or not. If it turns out Hugo isn't yet mature enough to make babies, we'll use a Canadian Doodles stud - most likely Rogue, Oscar or Clifford (to be determined). 

Watch this space for more details over the next week or so. (And also for news of Phoenix babies, due to arrive in about two weeks!)