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!

Life gets exciting!

Harmony's puppies are now six weeks old!! 
The next few weeks will be eventful and be the first steps towards life away from Mama. 

On March 8 we will be taking them to my son's school for a visit with a couple of classrooms. The kids always love meeting the puppies (as do the teachers!) and the pups generally respond quite well to the attention, noise, hands, pats, and new surroundings. This will also be their first car trip. 

On March 13 they will undergo their temperament assessment in the morning and first vaccinations in the afternoon. The following weekend, March 17-19, the families that have reserved puppies will come and select which of two choices we offer them. 

Then on March 22 they will be neutered and have a couple of days to recover before heading home with their new families on March 25-26. 

As of today, four of the puppies have been reserved and we plan to keep one as a potential breeder, leaving two still available. If you are interested, please send an email to roma@dragonramdoodles.com. 

(As usual, photos of the pups can be seen on our Facebook page. )

Puppies have arrived!

I am thrilled to announce that Harmony and Hugo are the proud parents of a second litter of seven beautiful puppies – one male and SIX females!!

I got a call at work just after noon from my father saying the first puppy had popped out a few minutes earlier. So I finished up what I was doing and headed out the door.

By the time I got home, puppy #3 had just arrived. I checked them all out and everything seemed fine, so I sat down beside Harmony to wait and lend a hand. Puppies #4 and #5 came in fairly short order, but then she took a long break – about 75 minutes before puppy #6 arrived. Another long break followed and puppy #7 popped out just as we were finishing supper preparations.

So here’s the list:

Puppy #1 – born at 11:54, male, cream parti, 243g (Domino)

Puppy #2 – 12:48, female, curly solid cream, 258g (Jyn)

Puppy #3 – 12:59, female, solid black with a couple white spots, 256g (Bella)

Puppy #4 – 13:30, female, chocolate parti, 274g (Roxy)

Puppy #5 – 13:45, female, cream with white chest, 269g (April)

Puppy #6 – 15:07, female, solid chocolate with white toes, 263g (Dakota)

Puppy #7 – 16:52, female, chocolate parti, 227g (Harlequin)

Puppies are nursing heartily and squeakily, Mama is tired but well, and humans are happy and excited. 

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!

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!

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: 

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!

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

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!

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.

And the total is 6!

Puppy #6 popped out right about the time I shut the computer down on Friday morning, at 1:14am. She is another blondie, quite pale in colour, and the smallest of the lot at a "mere" 299g. 

Now, some 35 hours later, the pups are all snuggled up with Mama in the whelping box, nursing, sleeping and pooping - ah, the life of a puppy! Phoenix is a very attentive mama. 

Keep watching this space for updates, and our FB page for more photos over the coming weeks. 

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!!

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!)

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!