Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Down to Two!

Yesterday, four puppies went home to spend the holidays with their new families! Yea! What an exciting way to spend the remainder of 2008... and yesterday, one of the three remaining females, Mistletoe, went to Windsor, CT. The amazing thing about this family is that they had owned a SISTER of our matriarch, Caicos, (and grandmother to the current litter). Now, what are the odds of that? They got their 'Breeze' (or Bries?) twelve years ago whereas our Caicos was born about 11 years ago--but the same parents!!! So, it was touching to see them get a grandniece of their dog (which sadly passed away in February).

St. Nicholas will be picked up the day after Christmas, and Kris Kringle will join his family after the holidays. That leaves Star and Snowflake, two lovely little girls that are a bundle of fun.

Of note, last week we had a couple looking at a puppy but they were reluctant to make a decision and decided (at the time) they weren't ready; yesterday they called back--but the puppy they were interested in had been picked by another family. Selecting a puppy is an involved decision. But there seems to always be another family or person ready for a puppy; perhaps things were meant to work out this way...

Monday, December 22, 2008

And Then There Were Three...




Three very lovely girls are still looking for that perfect match... we have "Mistletoe", "Star", and "Snowflake" each ready to go a loving home. We've had two calls today so by the time you read this the pick may be down to one. But, oh, each is so cute and cuddly that the best may be saved for last. Other than coloring the base of their tails each day with a Sharpie® to distinguish them you might look for Mistletoe's round belly--she's seems to make her way up to the food bowl quicker than the others! Right now, in reality, they ALL love to eat!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Snow Way!


Yippie! It's snow time for the pups. The nearly 9 inches of snow on Dec 19th was quite an experience for these little guys, who weren't sure what to do with all the white stuff. At first, they were tentative and a bit afraid but once the fun began these little guys plowed their way through... (By the way, the smudge on St. Nicholas' forehead was a result of poking around under our parked vehicles!)


We've taken to feeding the pups outside--more convenient and less mess for everyone concerned. It's a riot, releasing them from their whelping box enclosure for feeding time. It's a yellow stampede for the kitchen door and then a race to the three bowls at the edge of the driveway. These guys have it down now. Anytime we open up the gate they race for the door. They're also learning to relieve themselves OUTSIDE--they're so anxious to get to the food that there's no stopping inside for 'business'.

And of course, once play and dinner is done there was time for a nightcap courtesy of Bromley.


Friday, December 12, 2008

Ivy grows on Madison

Our white-haired "Ivy" will be joining her new family in Madison, CT. She's going to have a blast with the three boys in her new family. It wasn't easy deciding between her and the other females... they're all so cute and cuddly that each will be a 'best pick'. It turns out the holiday break will be a great time for families to get their new puppy--winter vacation and a puppy? It doesn't get much better than that! Okay, throw in a good snowstorm over break and now we're talking!!!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

HAPPY Holly!

The first puppy pick has been made and it is... Holly! Lucky girl, she gets to reside right here in Essex, with her yard right next to the Connecticut River. What better home could a lab want? Other prospective owners will be making their selections this week.

In the meantime, PLAYTIME RULES! With a break in the cold weather the pups have had a chance to check out the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors. The side lawn, to be exact. Yippie! Twigs, leaves, cold grass and most importantly, lots of space to romp! (It's also makes 'clean up' easier for us, if you know what we mean!). Alas, the weather turns colder going into the weekend...

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Happy Holidays!




Little Snowflake got a visit from Santa following our viewing of the Macy's Day parade. She gave him a kiss but was a bit startled by the result. The pups have become 'little dogs' with their individual personalities starting to develop. They're now playful with each other and with us and are beginning to romp when they venture outside the whelping box.

They've also started eating solid food this week. We feed them Canidae, our favorite dog food. It has four protein sources and no grain. We find that feeding this food from puppyhood on minimizes the development of food allergies. In fact, we ran out of Canidae a few weeks back for our adult dogs and in the emergency went to the grocery store and picked up some Purina ONE. Big mistake. By the end of the week every one of our five dogs had developed ear infections. Don't know what's in that kibble but it was most disagreeable to our dogs.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Four Weeks and Time to Play

Four weeks old... already?! Now the fun begins. Our adult and teenage dogs are now allowed by Bromley to play with the young 'ens in the whelping box. Sedona's mothering instinct came into play as the babies tried to nurse from her (just like Bromley did for Sedona's pups). Meanwhile, Bryce is at home with pups crawling up and over and all around her. That is, until she finds her nyla-bone and then she's all business.

This week will be a transition for the puppies and for us, too. At four weeks old they're ready to transition to solid food. Bromley's probably ready too, though of all our dogs she is the last to wean her pups. But with the puppies doubling in size nearly every week she's maxed out her capacity to share calories.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Three Weeks!

What a difference a week makes! Eyes open and beginning to roam, these little guys are summed up with one word: CUTE! This is little "Snowflake" one of five females in this litter. They're finding their voices, too! Tonight they enjoyed romping with our 10-month old lab, Bryce, in the whelping box. Even Aunt Sedona got into the act, crawling in to let the pups phantom nurse. What a family affair...

Monday, November 17, 2008

Another Sedona Pup

Here's "Kipper" who was also known as "Jerome" in our Arizona-themed litter this Spring. He's also the brother of "Phoenix", shown in our last posting. A handsome guy, weighing in at 49 lbs., who loves to swim, according to his owner, Sabrina. Kipper's father, Nicholas, sired our newest litter and we expect these pups to be just as beautiful. Keep those photos coming!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Growing Up Pups - Past Litters



We love hearing from owners of our puppies and getting pictures is even more fun. Here is the fox red female "Phoenix", from Sedona's litter last Spring. A spitting image of her mom!

Today, we heard from the owners of the pup we called "Matsimoto", son of our MIngus. That's him on the left. Beauty, eh?

Two Weeks Already?!


Their eyes have opened, their snouts are black, and these little guys now stand to eat. Each pup now weighs some 3 lbs. My how they've grown! Check out some more photos at: http://web.me.com/penkofflidbeck... look for Bromley Pups. Also note that we changed Rudolph's name to Kris Kringle at Nadia's request. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Happy Holidays! Litter is here!!!


Just in time for Christmas?! Bromley's long awaited litter arrived last night over the span of nine hours. Three males and five females were born to the proud parents of Bromley's Yankee Doodle and Legacy's Willcare Nicholas, a.k.a. Bromley and Nicholas. All pups weighed in at about 1 lb.

The puppies will be eight weeks on December 22 so we thought what a better theme than the " Happy Holidays". You're looking at Rudolph. Yes, his nose is pink but his fur is red. Not much to look at yet but just wait--his eyes will open in two weeks and he'll multiply in size twelve-fold between now and Christmas.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Puppies Due Oct. 23-25

Our yellow lab, Bromley, is showing signs of motherhood in a big way, and we mean BIG! The last week of maternity is always interesting, and she is suddenly showing significant girth. Stasia and Anastasia have been taking her on morning walks to help keep her physically strong and prepared for whelping. The final week will consist of shorter walks and a lot of resting up. Bromley enjoys puppies more than any other dog we know.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Praise for our Pups

We work hard to raise the best labrador retriever puppies possible, focusing on good temperament, gentle dispositions, and strong 'English lab' features. Recently we heard from one of our new owners, and this is what they had to say:

"We have enjoyed watching Roscoe grow from a small puppy into a well behaved young dog. He has enjoyed becoming the favorite puppy of all the neighborhood kids, and a regular on the ferry to Nantucket. I have enjoyed receiving countless compliments and words of praise from fellow travelers who are amazed at his gentle disposition and doggy model good looks. I am asked almost every week if I plan on showing him, and one man even asked if I would contact him if ever planned on breeding Roscoe (he was too late, he had already been neutered). I was told by one man, who trained police dogs for a living that Roscoe was one of the best behaved Lab puppies he had ever seen. On one faithful day Roscoe even received praise from the rich and famous, when Trey Anastasia (of the band Phish) and his wife and kids fell for the pretty yellow puppy sitting next to them on the ferry." --Keith N.

Roscoe was born in November 2007 to our black lab, Mingus, and Black Dux Legacy's Shain. We're always excited to hear about our 'babies' and to see pictures, too!

New Litter Due in mid-October

Our "super mom" yellow lab, Bromley, is expecting her litter about October 16th. She was bred with Legacy's Willcare's "Nicholas", who has sired a previous litter for us with excellent results. We're taking reservations for this litter. If you're interested in learning more about our puppies and our practices, please contact us.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Cottonwood to Cheshire

Little Cottonwood proved to be popular after all. She was shortly off to her new home in Cheshire, CT, after our last post and until today we've received several inquiries. Alas, we've been very busy with our farm markets the past month and only now have a few minutes for an update.

Our next litter is in the late planning stages, with our 'super mom', Bromley. She loves her pups, and as many saw from the last litter, is willing to step in for nursing duties--as well as grandma duties, too. We're hoping to have a mixed yellow/black litter but that will depend on whether we can find a suitable mate.

We have a list of several potential owners, so feel committed to a Fall litter. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Cottonwood -- One of the 'gang'


'Cottonwood', the last heroine in our Sedona litter, is enjoying life as a 'real dog' now that her litter mates have gone on with their new lives. What do we mean? Instinctively, dogs like to live in packs and she's at home hanging out with the rest of the gang. When puppies are together they tend to roam and explore (and sometimes wander!); alone, they find comfort in being one with the pack. Thus, even though she's the last, she's the easiest to care for. Well, no longer confined to the puppy enclosures, i.e., the whelping box or puppy pen, she gets to be with the big family, that is, her mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, and cousin. Where's Cottonwood? Just look for one of the big dogs and you'll find her right nearby.

We often have prospective owners looking to replace a recently deceased 'best friend'. Sometimes they're looking for a puppy to immediately fill a void or start anew; others find they need the passage of time to dull the loss before beginning again. In Cottonwood's case, we've had that happen twice in the past week! Someone falls in love with those coal-black eyes but then someone (the husband, in both cases!) decides he's not quite ready... and so, Cottonwood waits for her prince to rescue her and bring her to his castle. Someday, soon, she will live happily ever after...

Thursday, July 03, 2008

A First: Pup Heads for Cuba

Little Cedar, one of two females remaining from Sedona's litter, is heading for Guantanamo Bay to join her new family, a couple serving in the US Navy and stationed at the naval base there. She's very excited about the move, and has picked out her favorite bathing suit. We thought of packing some sunscreen and shades but will leave those to her new owners. Lots of splashing in the waves await this lucky pup!

Thus, we have our little Cottonwood as last female available from this litter. She has the whitest fur of the group, a bit smaller than the others but catching up rapidly. We still think she looks like one of those little seal pups you see in pictures from northern Canada!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Schnebley now calls Westbrook home...

Our last caballero, Schnebley, was picked up today and will call Westbrook his new den. No doubt he'll go to work with his new "dad", Lee as a painter's helper or will join them for a fishing trip in search of stripers in Long Island Sound. Only two girls left, one of which may go home later today.

Copper follows Phoenix

"Copper" selected her new family today, after they found her to be the one continually returning to them when they were trying to choose one of our three remaining female pups. Lo and behold, she's moving to Simsbury, too! Maybe they'll becoming playmates at the local dog park or go shopping together at Simsbury's new Farmer's Market held on Thursdays, 3 - 7 PM. We hope so since we participate in the market as vendors of our organic honey, skin products, and beeswax candles. It's always fun to see "our" offspring in their new settings and to follow them as they grow.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Phoenix moves to Simsbury

Our gorgeous redhead, "Phoenix", relocated north to her new family's home in Simsbury, CT, leaving the 'Land of the Sun' for the happy homestead complete with pool and a very excited family ready to spoil her with all the affection and toys a young puppy deserves. It was not an easy choice for Virginia and her daughter and son: "Cedar" was nearly the twin of Phoenix in so many respects that we offered to "flip the pups" while they called heads/tails... whichever landed the way they called it... fortunately for the pups Phoenix won their hearts and we never got to test the coin flip with dogs theory. Perhaps it was Phoenix 'smile', so much like her mother, Sedona, that won them over.

So now, it's down to three sister pups, all of which have 'dates' with prospective owners today through Saturday. As the doting 'parents,' we screen the suitors and are looking forward to another match made in heaven. That likely leaves one... will she be our Cinderella? We'll find out: another caller has an appointment for Saturday afternoon. If the slipper doesn't fit, our damsel pup will assuredly be rescued by another charming suitor.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

DON'T BUG ME! a best seller

Our newest product, DON'T BUG ME! natural insect repellent made its debut over the weekend and was an instant hit... selling out completely by late Saturday. Stasia wanted to develop a more pleasant smelling and EFFECTIVE bug spray than those found on the market and she SUCCEEDED.

We joke about it being "GIRL SCOUT" tested... during a camporee in May Nadia's troop got to try the new spray and reports were: NO BITES. Containing a variety of essential oils in skin nourishing jojoba oil, DON'T BUG ME! is effective against mosquitoes, ticks, black flies, and 'no see-ums' for 4-6 hours. Since then, we've tested ourselves in the twilight hours when mosquitoes are feasting and can say not only are there no bites but you can see the mosquitoes approach with 3-4 inches of your skin and then fly away... it really repels!

The nice thing is DON'T BUG ME! contains no DEET or synthetic chemicals and is safe for use on children and animals. We're very excited about our bug spray... it's made with quality ingredients that cost a bit more but we have the peace of mind that it is SAFE and EFFECTIVE!

It will soon be available at our online store (we had to reorder all the ingredients)... Look for it there or at our farm market stands by July 4!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Adios to our Three Caballeros

Well, the boys are spoken for... Yesterday, "Tucson" rounded up his new owners and rode high in the saddle of his new owner's Honda into the sunset, heading for greener pastures in Madison, CT. It was love at first sight for both parties. It didn't hurt that Tucson turns to mush when you hold him on his back and rub his belly! Tucson's new owner, Mary Ann, was a bit hurt that we nixed her plan to feed him pizza (the crust ends, of course!). Hard to resist pleading puppy eyes but we don't recommend human food for dogs. Well, a little crust here and there can't hurt, right?

So, now it's an all-girl party for this litter! Strange, as we often have high demand for female pups and this time they're the last to go. Two are likely to go in the next couple of days, and we expect the final two to be on their way to new homes by weeks' end. This has been a fun litter but, in all honesty, mix summer with puppy and that recipe begs for individual/family time with new owners!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Pictures from New Homes

We love receiving pictures of our pups in their new homes and this one is a doozy! Now known as KIPPER, (a.k.a. Jerome in Sedona's litter) this little guy is all decked out for the upcoming July 4th weekend. Surrounded by toys and cared for by a loving couple, he's doing well. He had a brief bout with a loose stool for a couple of days--possibly brought about by a change in drinking water (chlorinated vs. our well water) but a couple of additions of Pepto-Bismol has returned his situation to normal. The new owner has had a few questions for us along the way and Kipper's transition from litter mates to best friend seems to have gone well. Thanks to Kipper's owners for sharing his photo!

Friday, June 20, 2008

NEWS FLASH! Nicholas Wins!!!


The sire of our latest litter, Legacy's Willcare's NICHOLAS won Best of Winners from the Bred-By Exhibitor class yesterday and got his first Championship points. His owner, Kevin Bergeson, is justifiably proud. Maybe he'll walk in the footsteps of Sedona's grandfather, Broad Reach Ruff Stuff ("Colby"), #1 AKC champion in 2001 and 2002 for North America.

Eight Weeks and Ready to Go!

Time flies when you're having fun! Our pups just turned eight weeks and are on their way to their new homes. 'Jerome' was the first to go, heading for nearby Deep River, CT. His first night without his siblings apparently went fine. A few trips outside overnight to do his business and the rest of the time he was a snoozer! As for the rest of the gang, it seemed like, "Great! More chow for the rest of us!" This picture is of "Cedar" a female with some nice cedar color. She's still available and looking for a new home...

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Bee Time

It was a tough spring with weather below normal aggravating life for the bees and beekeeper. The cool weather kept the bees in their hives and slowed the onset of the spring bloom and nectar harvest. The result was the loss of several more hives, on top of those lost over the winter. Not a pretty picture. Fortunately, we've replaced the lost hives and expanded our operations with the goal of increasing our honey production this year. We continue to suffer or enjoy, depending upon your perspective, from annual sellouts of our honey. This last year our Lavender Honey was a big hit and we look forward to offering it again this year. We planted significantly more lavender from which we'll harvest buds for infusing into our wildflower honey. Those plants are young but look to add some nice flowers in a couple of weeks. Our older plants have a profusion of buds that will give us a good start on the harvest.

As for honey production, we have a couple of hives that are filling fast with honey while most are slow to take off this year. It's too early to tell how this harvest will turn out but it's a bit discouraging at this juncture. The locust is about to bloom and the clover appears to be in full bloom--a very important nectar source for us. We have about three weeks remaining of the Spring/summer blooming period before we hit the dirth of summer. Sometime in late August the first of the goldenrod will appear and the bees will be back at work racing the calendar to bring in the fall flow.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Six weeks and Time for the Vet

How time flies when you're a puppy! Sedona's brood is now six weeks old and they got their first shots...all received a clean bill of health from our veterinarian. Even little 'Cottonwood', who started out her life at a wee 5 3/4 oz. tipped the scale at over 5 lbs. Of course, her big brother, Schnebley, nearly broke the scale at 9 lb. 7 oz. By the end of the visit this litter came through and promptly snoozed through the remainder of the visit. An interesting twist this time around was the inclusion of a measles vaccine with the traditional parvo/distemper shots our pups usually get. It turns out the measles vaccine works to bolster the puppies' immunity against distemper during the time the puppies immune system is adjusting to the post-nursing phase of life. The mother's milk provides antibodies that suppress the effectiveness of the distemper vaccine; the measles virus is apparently similar in structure to the distemper and the vaccine is not suppressed by the mother's milk. Thus, an additional measure of protection is provided by the measles vaccine. No, the puppies won't develop little red spots and turn itchy!

This picture reveals our snoozers following their check. Note the coloration by the tails... how else can one keep track of an all yellow litter?! We use Sharpies to mark each pup. This helps us distinguish each one so we can better track weight, personalities, etc.

Monday, June 02, 2008

A stroll outside on a beautiful spring day is a must for every puppy and brings a smile not only to their faces but ours as well.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Sunshine on our Shoulders

Nothing beats a day in the sunshine. Taking advantage of some nice warm weather, the litter gets time outside to run around and then can doze in the luxury of a Little Tykes playhouse. Getting seven squirming, excited little guys to pose for their mug shots isn't easy, as you can see here!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Sedona Seven


Congrats to our newest mother, Sedona! She gave birth to seven healthy puppies on April 21. Every puppy arrived squirming and ready to take on the world, even the littlest one, nicknamed "Cottonwood".

Of course, being Sedona we had to give this litter an Arizona theme. So names include Copper, Cottonwood, Tucson, Schnebley, and even Cedar. Well, cedar may not seem Arizonan but Nadia insisted on the name, and almost every puppy has a reddish coat like mother Sedona, so even red Cedar fits!

Schnebley? The town of Sedona was named for Tom Schnebley's wife so we had to have a Schnebley (there's a landmark in Sedona named Schnebley Hill). Besides, it's a great dog name, don't you think?

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Ten Days to Puppyhood!

Hard to believe another litter is on the way. Our Sedona (reddish yellow lab) will experience birthing for the first time. The stress meter goes up a bit with a first litter and we're a bit anxious about how she'll do. Thankfully, she's a strong, healthy mom-to-be and has been an observer of several litters born to her mom (Bromley) and aunt (Mingus) so we're confident she'll do well. Stasia, on the other hand, pegs the stress meter. Each of the newborn pups are her 'babies' too!

The sire of this litter is Legacy's Willcare Nicholas, who's father is Am Ch BISS Willcare's Prestige. Both Sedona and Nicholas have excellent pedigrees with a substantial number of AKC champions in their lines. Sedona is a granddaughter of Legacy Labrador's Broad Reach Ruff Stuff, a.k.a. "Colby". He's a Best in Show and Multiple Best in Specialty Show American and Canadian Champion. Colby was #1 Labrador Retriever in the country for 2002 (All Breed) and 2003 (Breed & All Breed). And was the PEDIGREE AWARD WINNER for Labradors in 2003. While we take pride in our breeding program our main interest is providing individuals and families with the best quality puppies. We do this through extensive hands-on socialization so that when they are placed in their new homes they will become a welcome, well-adjusted addition to your family.

If you're new to our blog we invite you to browse through our archived posts to learn more about our litters and our philosophy for raising labrador retriever puppies.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Someone Please Tell Mother Nature It's Spring!

Enough with the cold weather already! Here it is the second week of April and the bees have been able to get out for a meal only once! This has been a tough winter-into-spring for the bees. By mid-March the weather has usually begun bringing on 50 degree days--the minimum most bees need to get out for foraging. Since they haven't had that opportunity their winter stores are exhausted and some hives are facing starvation. I've tried to get some sugar syrup onto the hives when it's warmed up a bit but they need the warmer weather to even move to where the syrup is, and they haven't had that opportunity.

As a result of the long cold spring, and perhaps because of the up-and-down temps all winter, we lost about half our hives this winter. I recently spoke with another eastern Connnecticut beekeeper who's experienced similar losses. I attribute most of the loss to the difficult weather and the fact that most of the dead hives were populated last Spring with new bees from the South. Oftentimes, these bees don't have the genetic makeup to survive New England winters. Compounding the problem was the extended drought of last August and September, when the bees began consuming rather than collecting honey. Despite our efforts to feed the bees in the Fall some went into the winter short on supplies. One other factor could be the possible existence of Nosema, a disease growing more common. The only registered treatment for nosema in North America is fumagillin, a natural extract from the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus.. Randy Oliver, a California beekeeper, has some excellent articles on nosema and some treatment options. Ideally, I should have our hives tested to determine if nosema is a problem.

Fortunately, we have ordered some replacement hives, known as packages, and some will be arriving today. Packages are made by shaking into a box about 3 lbs. of bees from an existing hive. With the addition of a caged new queen one has the ingredients for establishing a new hive. Once the package arrives the queen in her cage is installed in an empty hive filled with honeycomb frames and the bees are gently shaken into the hive box. The remaining bees in the screened package will pick up the queen's scent and will make their way into their new home. The lid is replaced, a small amount of sugar syrup is installed in a feeder jar and then one waits. A few days later, a check on the hive will reveal the queen has been released by the workers from her cage--they'll have chewed out the candy plug that separates (and protects her) from the colony until they've accepted her as their new leader. From there she will begin laying eggs and the new hive will begin its life here in the Essex area.

This process will continue over the next few weeks as we get additional packages. Until this year, we've had to drive to a supplier in Greenwich, NY, to obtain our packages. Fortunately, I've discovered a new source for packages right here in Connecticut. That's where we're getting our first shipment of packages from. The remainder were ordered in late January from the New York supplier. Given the high rate of hive failure experienced by beekeepers nationwide in recent years, one has to get orders in early in the season in order to be assured of new bees. Many suppliers run out quickly as beekeepers discover in Spring the extent of losses exceed their expectations.

Ideally, I'd like to get in the position of developing our own additional hives. That thought will be covered in a future posting.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Eleven weeks and all are home

We're happy to announce that all of Mingus' pups have homes (as of 9 weeks of age), from Boston to the Eastern shore of Maryland and Connecticut in between.  Her pups are always a joy for us, a very mellow group and this was no exception.  In fact, we kept 'el Capitan', to join our pack!  It'a always fun and personally rewarding for us to see the pups and their new families together.  Some are getting a dog for the first time and others are replacing a companion recently lost.  Regardless, bringing a puppy home is the first step toward many years of happy and sometimes crazy times ahead.  Congratulations to all you new owners!

Our next litter is expected in April... we'll keep you posted right here.

In the meantime, we highly recommend Cesar Millan's books and DVDs from his "Dog Whisperer" show on the National Geographic Channel. And for new puppy owners, we also suggest "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete. Check 'em out:






Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Seven Weeks!

Hard to believe how fast time goes by!  Now seven weeks old, these guys/gals have become chow hounds.  They go crazy when food arrives and it disappears within about a minute--typical lab style!  The next 45 minutes are spent in play time, chasing around the kitchen, sniffing out new smells, finding flower pots, stray papers, you name it, to sample, dig, or keep away from a litter mate.  They're a roll-ie poll-ie eight lbs. each, except for little Sacagawea who still doesn't quite look like a lab!  She's spry and bounces, the fastest lab pup on the planet without the added bulk of her brothers and sisters.  Despite her diminutive size she's very popular, desired by at least three prospective owners!

Monday, January 14, 2008

Three Yellows






Here are some pics of Lewis & Clark, and Yosemite, at six-and-one-half weeks. All the pups are becoming much more playful, requiring a full hour of up-and-at-'em running around (in our kitchen since it's wintery outside) after mealtime. After that they retire to the whelping box and pen for sleeptime until the next go-around.

Friday, January 11, 2008

First Vet Check a Success

Now six weeks old, our pups got their first checkup at the vet's office today. All went well, with each getting the first of the series of three puppy vaccinations they'll need the first year.

They now tip the scales at between 6 to 7 lbs., with the exception of little Sacagawea who comes in at a whopping 4 lbs. More on her later.

The accompanying photo is of "Clark", one of the two yellow males in this litter.