3 Weeks and Big!

 These pups are growing like crazy!  It's easy to get plenty of milk when you don't have to compete with other pups for a spot at the milk bar!   We went ahead and upgraded to the bigger area so they'd have farther to go to work those leg muscles as well as some stuffed socks to simulate other puppies that they have to climb over.  They're beginning to walk and getting more steady on their paws every day. 

We've also added collars now to help tell them apart.  Hazel is wearing green and Heidi is wearing orange.  

Because many of the families that adopt our pups don't live close enough to meet them before it's time to come home we try to get to know our pups temperament.  Much of it is exposing them to slightly uncomfortable positions to see how they react.  Pups who try to scramble out of the position are likely to grow up needing a bit more patient consistency to train.  Meaning they may be a bit more stubborn in yielding to you as the authority in your home.   

Relaxing on back is one of the first positions we try.  Heidi (orange collar) has done this well nearly every time.  Hazel (green collar) has been more quick to scramble out of it initially, but that's be beauty of training or playing intentionally.   They can eventually yield to us.  Here Hazel laid here for as long as we'd allow her as my daughter rubbed her tummy and danced her limp lets all around.

If you are interested in adding a puppy to your family, please fill out our Application to see if ours are a good fit for yours

Christmas Puppies ... The Two Week Old Twins Are Here!

Yep, just two pups!  Now two weeks old and will be ready to come home as early as New Years Eve.  

There's not been much for us to do this first week other than take good care of mama and keep her well watered and fed, and the puppy's area secluded and warm.  

But after a while we had to get them out to get some pictures to share!

May I introduce you to... 

Hazel - Black Female - Left side
         She has 3 markings.  A white spot on each back toe (just like her mama),
         and a white spot on her chest, just like her daddy.   (These spots are common for Labradors)
         We'll be able to get a better shot with those markings when she starts walking. 

Heidi - Black Female - Right side

    She was born second and has no markings.  All black!

Because there are only two, they are getting easy access to lots of mama's milk!   With bigger litters a puppy has more competition and more work to do to push through getting a turn at suckling.  So to help with the work that they're not having to do, we've moved them to the bigger area sooner than normal and have added some stuffed socks to have to climb over and around simulating what they'd have to do if they had more siblings.  

This is Heidi.  We love it when a pup will lay so easily on her back exposing her belly.  This is a great sign for a puppy that will hopefully grow to be more easily submissive when it's time for training.  

If you are interested in adding a puppy to your family the timing of this litter would make a perfect Christmas surprise.   

Though they won't be ready to officially come home till the weekend of New Years, if you live close, they can absolutely be picked up for Christmas gift opening day to introduce to the family. 
Then have a few days to ready the house for the new family member to arrive the weekend of New Years. 

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But before getting too excited, please look into what it takes to raise a puppy.   Adding a dog to your family can be a wonderful gift for many years, or can cause heartache if a family is not ready for the challenge of raising and training a puppy early in their life.   

Working with your puppy consistently with good training methods in the first beginning months will make a THE difference between a family dog that is hard to live with as a grown adult and a family dog that you thoroughly enjoy and can't live without.  

So if you're up for the gift of a Labrador Retriever as a part of your family please follow our process for reserving a puppy by starting with the application so we can both see if one of our puppies would be a good match for you and your family.  

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Nearly 8 Weeks and Home!

 I love getting to learn about each of your families when you first reach out to us.  Then especially getting to meet you face to face as your pup meets you for the first time.   

Blessings as you go!  

Pups waiting to meet their families

JAX  -  Juniper

Black collar

Asher  -  Spruce 

Blue collar

Harley - Rosemary 

Yellow collar

Nala  -  Maple 

Red collar

6 weeks Old

Today they get their first vaccinations!  I love our vet that comes out of her way to give the shots at our home, instead of me having to take the pups to an office.  

I believe these are the biggest pups at 6 weeks that we've ever had!  Though they did get a bit of a head start with only having to share space/nutrients with three others in the womb!   When our girl was still pregnant with them, she looked like she could have been carrying 10 pups.   

Since many of you weren't picking puppies based on temperament, we have only noticed the basics of each one's temperament and how they differ from their litter mates.  So with each one I'll just list a few words to best describe each pup.

 JAX  -  Yellow Male (Juniper) RESERVED

Observant.  Easy-to-train. Playful.

Asher  -  Black Male (Spruce) RESERVED

Eager.  Energetic

Harley - Black female (Rosemary) RESERVED

Curious. Driven.  

Nala  -  Black Female (Maple) RESERVED 

Lively.  Intelligent.

I said this last week about Asher, but his week I need to tag it on for Nala and maybe Harley as well.   She was not having being in the tin bowl!  She hardly payed any attention to me, but had a one track mind to get out of the bowl.   It will be important to keep her attention to make training effective.  

With all the pups but especially with her, getting enough exercise will be key!   I loved training our dogs to fetch a frisbee as it was easy to throw and would go farther than a ball allowing for lots of running!   I prefer this guys' training methods and philosophy to get the games going.