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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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...

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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...

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.

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.

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.