Guess How Many Puppies - Topaz edition

So, Topaz is (most likely) pregnant, meaning it is time for another edition of our Guess How Many Puppies contest!!

Topaz-Mama to be (for the third time!)

 Please send us your guesses! Each guess needs to include:

• ·         how many puppies she will give birth to
• ·         the date and time of the arrival of the first pup

The person who guesses the correct number of puppies, with the date and time closest o the actual arrival, wins a $10 Timmy’s or Chapter’s gift card!

This will be Topaz’s third and final litter. Her first was six puppies (of which one was unfortunately still-born), and her second was five puppies. So I expect lots of guesses for five or six pups – but four or seven could also be possible! (Or three, or eight… !!)

As for timing, Topaz ovulated on 3 March. Gestation is roughly 63 days after ovulation, but Topaz gave birth on the 61^st day with her first two litters. That would put her most likely whelping date around 3-5 May, give or take a day or two.

Topaz’s ultrasound to confirm pregnancy and get a preliminary puppy count is scheduled for 3 April, so we will accept guesses until noon that day. Once we announce the initial puppy count from the ultrasound, no more guesses will be allowed. That gives you just over three weeks to send us your guesses.

So go to it!

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!

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!

Almost done...

Well, Phoenix took her sweet time getting those babies out! 

The first one didn't arrive until 11:22pm on the 21st - and she was a big girl of 370g, who came out feet first. We were almost getting concerned that it was taking too long, so between my son and me, we helped her along until she finally emerged and we made sure she was breating right away. She is a blond (gold-caramel?) colour with white chest, toes, tail-tip, chin and lips. 

Number 2 arrived a mere seven minutes later, at 11:29. This one is a chocolate phantom tri-colour, with white spots on chest, feet, tail, and paws. He weighed 311g. 

Number 3 arrived at 11:48, a blond (apricot-caramel?) boy with similar white markings as his sister. Did I say she was big? Well this guy is a whopping 399g - the biggest pup we've ever had!!

Phoenix took a bit of a break then, while the next pups got into position. Number 4 arrived at 12:22, exactly an hour after the first one. He was another blond (gold-apricot?) boy with the same type of white markings as the other blondies. He's smaller than his brother, at a mere 331g - which is still twice as big as lots of other pups have been. 

Number 5 arrived at 12:35, a beautiful black girl with lots of white spots as well. She was medium sized as well, around 347g.

Number 6 hasn't arrived yet. We're pretty sure there is a Number 6 - there appears to be another puppy-shaped lump inside - but it's reluctant to leave. I'll report later on Friday if/when it emerged from hiding.

Technically the last pups were born on a different day than the first three, but we'll give them all the 21st for their birthday. (It's a good number - my daughter's birthdate, albeit she was born in May.) 


Phoenix is a wonderful mama. She is very doting on her babies, takes excellent care of them and keeps them clean, fed, and snuggled. And boy she had to work hard for these ones - by the end she was quite rotund!! No wonder, with around 2kg of baby inside, not to mention all the placentas and fluid. She only weighs about 13kg herself. She likes to crawl under my bed and by the last few days we closed my bedroom door so she couldn't do so, as it was such a tight fit we were scared she'd get stuck!! She's a lot more comfy now, I'm sure. 

(Note that just because they're huge babes doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be huge dogs. We'll monitor their relative growth and be better able to estimate adult sizes when they're 4-6 weeks old.)

Watch for photos on our Facebook page later today (Friday). I'm not the best phtographer and I'm too tired to fiddle with posting photos. Tirstan will get some up on Facebook later.

Happy puppy dreams!!

Ready to pop!!

Phoenix is in early-mid labour at the moment. We’ve been monitoring her temperature since Monday. Though things might be starting on Tuesday, but no deal. Yesterday evening her temp finally dropped significantly,same this morning, meaning babes should arrive within 24hours. I think it’ll be later tonight or early morning. I came home from work early, just in case, and she was antsy and panting, but has settled back down now. So I’m just hanging around, watching her, reading and waiting. Stay tuned!!

Puppies on the way again!!

I am happy to confirm that the first of our spring/summer litters is now definitely on its way! 

Phoenix was bred to Black Canyon Triple Play "Jackson" on Februrary 22 and she had her ultrasoun on March 23, which confirmed several beautiful healthy babies in progress!! We expect them to be born around April 20, give or take a few days. 

Jackson is a gorgeous black phantom/parti tri-colour. With Phoenix, they will produce a whole rainbow of colours and patterns!! Black and chocolate phantom, black and chocolate tri-colour, and cream/caramel are all possible. Since Phoenix doesn't carry parti, there won't be any true partis, but there could be some "abstract" (lots of white but less than 50%) and white mis-marks (i.e. white spots on colour). 

Pups are likely to mature to 25-40 lbs, so large minis/small mediums. We already have one deposit on this litter and no doubtg more will come as the time of birth approaches!

Pregnancy confirmed!

(Revised Nov 2 to indicate the correct number of puppies!)

I am extremely pleased to announce that YES! Galena is pregnant.

It was with bated breath that we stood around the ultrasound machine yesterday afternoon, waiting for the verdict.

And there they were… one, two, three, four, FIVE puppies on the way!

That narrows down the possible winners of the Guess How Many Puppies contest to Patrice, Donna and Monica. All that remains to be seen is when the first one comes popping out, sometimes between 16-20 November if my prognostication is correct.

Just another month to go…

Topaz's puppies have arrived!!!

We are pleased to announce the arrival of Topaz’s puppies!!

They actually arrived on Wednesday, May 20 - very conveniently around the supper hour. The first one "popped out" at 5:30, and she was done by a bit after 8pm. The "important people" (i.e., those with reservations on or interest in this litter) received prompt notification. But this time of year is so busy, the rest of you have had to wait a few days to get the news. (As in - Thursday was my daughter's birthday, Friday was house cleanup evening, Saturday we worked at the spring yard cleanup at our church in the morning and ran in the Ottawa Race Weekend 5km in the afternoon, Sunday we volunteered at the Race Weekend handing out medals for the marathon and half marathon... And of course walking dogs, watching and weighing puppies, feeding dogs...)

Anyhow, we have - as predicted by the ultrasound a month ago - 5 beautiful babies!

Puppy #1: born at 5:30pm, male, red parti, weighing 227g

Puppy #2: 5:47pm, male, apricot, 174g

Puppy #3: 7:02pm, male, red, 180g

Puppy #4: 7:08pm, female, apricot, 133g
                (I think she is the smallest puppy we have ever had!)

Puppy #5: 7:51pm, male, red parti, 244g

Pups and Mama are doing well.

Here are a few shots of the beautiful babes!!

Topaz: Almost there!

At just over 8 weeks’ gestation, Topaz’s puppies could be born any time.

During this third trimester, the foetuses have completed almost all essential development except for eyes and ears, and spend most of their time gaining weight and size. Their bones have calcified and they have fur. 

With Topaz being a fairly small girl, she’s getting nice and fat, which makes it easy to see the movement of puppies inside. Topaz will be joining us tonight so we can begin to monitor her temperature for signs of imminent whelping. Given her issues with delivery of her first litter, we may give her extra calcium up front to ensure things go smoothly and we don’t lose any puppies this time. The whelping box will go up today or tomorrow and we’ll set her crate aside, so we can keep a closer eye on her.

Stay tuned for a birth announcement likely by the end of the week!

Topaz: Two-thirds there!

 Topaz’s pups are now recognizable as puppies though they still have some development and a lot of growth to go before birth. 

During the last three weeks they have gotten a full nervous system, a skeleton, face, limbs, skin, internal organs, a beating heart, sexual characteristics, eyes, ears and, well, basically almost everything they need to survive, though those systems are not yet mature and they would not likely survive if they were born now – but it won’t take long!

The foetuses are about 45mm long (almost 2”), weigh about 6g (1/4 oz), and are quite resistant to developmental problems. 

Topaz is visibly pregnant and soon we’ll be able to see ripples on her belly as the puppies move, and feel their skulls. It’s an exciting time!

Topaz ultrasound

Topaz had her ultrasound yesterday morning.

And the number is… (drumroll…) 5 !!!

As I noted in Galena’s ultrasound announcement, this may not be 100% accurate, but we expect it’s got a good chance of being so, although the vet who did the ultrasound this time wasn't our usual expert, so I'm not sure what her track record is like. But she was confident she counted five. So the short-list for the most likely winner of the Guess How Many Puppies contest (Topaz edition) is Emma P and Sarah P. Stay tuned for the final outcome!

It’ll be another four weeks before we can announce the final winner - meaning the puppies will have been born. In the meantime – as I said before – watch this space for news!  

At this point, anyone who is interested in one of Topaz’s puppies is invited to send in a deposit to fix your place on the waiting list. Of the four families who indicated an interest in this litter, two have already sent in their deposit, so we can accept up to three more. (If you haven’t already sent in an application form, we need one of those two, which you can download or request by e-mail.)

With Springville Zippity Doo Dah (Zip) of Canadian Doodle Puppies as sire, Topaz’s pups will all be shades of gold-apricot-red in solid or parti. They may have curly or wavy fleece coats, and are likely to range in size from 15-25 lbs at maturity. Puppy allocation will primarily be based on the best match between the characteristics the puppies display at temperament testing (done at age 7 weeks) and the characteristics you specify as most important in your application form. We may keep one female as a breeding prospect and welcome inquiries from people interested in being Guardians. The rest of the puppies will all be going as pets.

Happy puppy dreams!

Topaz: Guess How Many Puppies (Reminder)

This is just a friendly reminder to get your guesses in asap for the Topaz Edition of our spring 2015 Guess How Many Puppies contest!

If you need details, check out the March 24 post.

The deadline for guesses for the Topaz Edition is Friday 24 March at 11:59pm. By early Saturday April 25 we will have posted the results of the ultrasound with a preliminary puppy count, so no guesses will be accepted after that.