Here is a short video of the puppies enjoying the chickens. Sitting by the fence and watching the birds was a favorite past time around here for these guys. This was at 8 weeks, back when they were still just little. (please forgive the grass, or lack of it. Between dogs and birds, our yard isn't very attractive)
Not only did I have a remarkable, and memorable time raising this litter of golden doodles, these dogs went to fantastic homes and very nice people. Hunter's family even gave me a gift for raising him! I was so surprised and delighted to get this pretty package with a teapot votive from Victoria Trading Co.
This is Hunter's new family, he left on the 4th of July. The people who chose him had spent a lot of time with him previously, including a sleepover for Father's Day.
Most of the pups had regular visits from their people.
Pip's mom met him when he was just a few days old and came by every week for snuggles.
Wolfgang's dad would drop by on a break from work or with his kids and wife in the evenings. It meant a lot to me that these folks were so excited to get a new pup that they wanted to be a part of the baby's life from the very beginning. It was good for the dogs to know they were loved.
Bella's family was too far away for visits, but they sent her a blanket for the litter to sleep on, so that when she went home, she'd have their scent. That told me that they were good people who cared about the little girl.
Ashlynn Ella went to the stud's owner, who is going to sell her. I've spent some time with this breeder and know she is going to find a perfect home for our little gal, but it was hard to see her go. It helped that she was going to go stay with a dozen or so half brothers and sisters with five acres to run on before she found her forever home.
And of course, Sugar found a decent home too…
There was a lot of debate going on in my head, but I'm glad the influence of the grand fairies won out. This is a smart pup, and is much loved by us, whether we needed a fifth dog or not.
Over the last 25 years, I've had 11-12 litters of puppies, the rest all yorkies. I've been very strict with myself, keeping only Marty, and Agnes Rosebud earlier, then when they died, I kept Albie and Dorothy from Twinkle's last litter. It takes a will of steel to be able to love the babies for weeks and send them on to new homes. I thought I could do it this time too, but didn't reckon on 4 grand fairies begging to keep one.
And I wasn't prepared for how emotionally attached I'd become to everyone of these (not so) little guys!
It is a good thing there was such a strong market for the pups because if they'd been hard to sell, I'd have been tempted to keep them ALL.
If I'd had a dozen, I could've sold them all easily. But 6 was the perfect number of babies, I had plenty of one on one time with them, 6 was a manageable amount of pups to love.
It might have been the time of year, the great weather, and ideal circumstances, but having this litter of doodles will be a treasured memory and a very special time to me.
Or is it that Doods are just plain, amazing dogs?
Oh, there was some destruction, I lost a wicker rocker, one window screen, a flip flop, the Xmas lights on the gazebo, and a lot of plants from curious, little chewers. And I spent a lot of time scooping poop.
But I was so enamoured with these guys, I just didn't care.
Now that they are going to new homes, hopefully, my blog can return to normal… It has been highjacked by fuzzy cuteness for a while, thanks for your patience with all my overflowing doggie pics!
(But I did mention that we are keeping one, right? Be warned, there will be more puppy photos coming)
We are down to three pups now. Ashlyn Ella is with the owner of the stud, and is still for sale if anyone wants a dog from this magnificent litter of spectacular cuties. Pip is with his new Mom and Bella has a forever family too. The other two are on their way to their new homes as soon as their new owners get back from vacations.
And of course, Sugar is our own baby to keep.
We like taking the pups and the other four dogs on walks in the woods behind our house.
Now that they are bigger, we let them explore the creek. Or if you are from Indiana, the crick.
At first, they were cautious, but it didn't take long for them to go for it, and start splashing.
The water isn't very deep, this is where we drive the 4 wheeler across to the back acreage. There is a little swimming hole to the side, and that is where Dewdrop hung out. In her jammies, splashing in the muddy water.
Everyone was a muddy mess, so we took turns soaping them up in the wading pool. My assistant was in charge of rinsing.
Of course, no one stays clean around here very long, the boys ran right into the bushes after they were bathed.
Dirty already!
It was a day of firsts for Sugar, after the creek, we went to the lake and took her along.
She floated with us, swam a little bit, took a two hour nap, then waited to tinkle when we got back to the shore. She has the makings of a great lake dog!
Well, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to resist this cutie's sweet snuggles as well as the little grand fairies pleadings.
Yep, we are keeping her!
This is Sugar, who is staying with us and with her mom, Honey. And yes, there are a couple of catchy tunes that go with those names and yes, they are crooned over and over around here.
She can sit, shake, and sometimes stay. She comes when called and potties on command. So far, this is looking like a good choice. What a smarty pants!
Getting the pups to the vet for their 6 week shots required a couple of side kicks to help me load them up.
These guys are not yorkie pups, that is for sure. When Twinkle had babies, all 9 could go in one carrier. These ginormous fur balls generously filled 2 crates with three in each. In many ways, golden doodles are easier to raise, they are hardier and more independent. Yorkies are such tiny, delicate babies that they require more hands on care. This litter, lives in the breezeway with the door open so they can take themselves out to potty. Twinkle's pups lived indoors, in a wading pool, and I picked up the itsy bitsy poops to keep the area clean. I still have to scoop up after the doods, but at least it is out in the yard. Those pups are great about not going anywhere near their nest, since they have a full run of the yard.
It has been a lot of work, though. The first hour of every day was spent cleaning up, changing bedding, disinfecting their area when they were younger. Now that they are older, I'm still out there every morning, cleaning up, but it is with a grabber, picking up piles from the yard. And I'm doing it over and over throughout the day to make sure they have a clean area to play in.
And each day, those dogs get larger.
And larger.
You can almost watch them grow.
But they are laid back for pups, pretty easy to take care of. When my assistants and I took them to the vet, they cooperated very well, none ran off or caused too much mischief.
The doc gave them all good health reports. None cried when it got a shot, either.
Sugarwings took notes during the appointment for us.
It was all pretty cute. A crowd gathered around at the office, smiling and laughing a the scene we made carrying in the passel of pups and getting them weighed.
Here is a little video of the girls loading them up for the trip. (Please excuse the messy garage.)
I hope you aren't sick of all the pup pics, just in case, here is one of some roses I am painting.
There is a looming decision to be made.
To keep her, or not to keep her. I've put it off for about as long as I can. The litter is scheduled to go to their new homes the first week of July.
CONS:
PROS:
Sugarwings keeps a ladder under the mulberry trees for the whole berry season, for easy access when she needs a snack.
What on earth is better for a kid than running in the clover fields with puppies and climbing trees to eat berries on a sunny, summer day?
The grand fairies and the babies raced across the field, collapsing onto the ground for wriggling hugs when they got worn out.
It really doesn't get any better than this.
Perfection!
PS- Happy birthday, Guncle Randy!
While Guncle Randy was here, pet butlering and then hanging out in the studio with me, we had a room full of pups, along with one grand fairy. She saw us taking photos of pups (and being a bit of a ham herself,) she scooted off to her dress up closet and wriggled into a gown that would be properly eye catching for a photo shoot.
Nope, not exactly a wallflower, huh? She was into posing.
And made an adorable model, huh?
Her furry friends were slightly cute themselves.
Oh, this baby looks so sweet and tiny here! The puppies are growing so fast! This was such a short time ago, but they look nothing like this now.
Time with babies is precious.
The time slips away so quickly.
Oh my goodness, we are enamoured with the puppies! As their time with us gets shorter and shorter, I get more and more worried about how we will all react with them leaving.
See what I mean?
Such cuteness. And goofiness. They are keeping us laughing too.
And they are getting into trouble. A suicidal chicken came over the fence for Honey to capture, and being a good mama, Honey shared with her pups. I came outside to find one of the pups, appropriately named Hunter by his new family, sitting on a dead hen with the proudest look on his face that any dog could ever have.
We quickly replaced dead chicks with squeaky ones.
Five are sold, and I am debating keeping the last little girl, the runt, a black pup.
There are inquiries for her, but I am not pushing any of them yet. We adore her. But I keep telling myself I'd be crazy to own FIVE DOGS.
Right?
Please stop me, I don't know if I can stop myself…………………..
Help!!!
Deciding to have pups is a major commitment of time. We had a window of time where we had no travel plans, the weather was warm, and it was ideal for babies, and we decided to go for it.
Then, my son and his Sacred Circus family were asked to perform at a big music fest, right after one of my faves, Steve Miller!
So, what do you do, when you are knee deep in fur babies that need constant care, but your human baby has a big deal show that you HAVE to see?
You call the Pet Butler!
I knew the babies would be in better hands with him than just about anyone else, including myself. He was great, just as I expected. We had some airline points, so flew him up from Florida and we were free to attend the concert with no worries.
(Although, we should have been worried about weather, storms canceled the show and we arrived at the tail end of a huge storm, that turned into a constant drizzle for the rest of the night)
All of the puppies were in good hands while we were gone, and Guncle Randy stayed on a few days for some fun time too. Although, he was still mopping up after, cuddling, and feeding puppeesh even though he was no longer on the clock.
We had time with grand fairies, and got in lots of studio time too. A perfect visit.
I always love it when my baby bro comes to craft and hang out, but everything is even better with puppies.
