New Pups! Theme: Pacific Northwest

We welcomed six black and yellow puppies from our black lab, Mingus, early on November 29th. Labor began around midnight and by 8 AM she was done (or so we thought). About six hours later she birthed a stillborn pup, which caught us all by surprise. Nonetheless, the six we have are healthy and growing fast!

As is our custom, we've named this litter after a recent vacation destination. Last summer we traveled to northern California to visit San Francisco, Yosemite, and the Redwoods, and then continued up the coast of Oregon and Washington. Thus, our three male and three femaile puppies have the temporary names of: Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, El Capitan (F), Yosemite (F), and Wizard (M) (after the island in Crater Lake).

Our smallest puppy, Sacagawea, was born with some intriguing markings reminiscent of the first labrador retrievers that arrived in England in the 1840s from Newfoundland. Known as "St. John's" labs, these early emissaries had white paws, a white chin, and white chests to contrast with their black hair. It is not uncommon for black labs to be born with some white markings but they often diminish or completely disappear. We're not sure what will happen with Sacagawea but it seems clear that her heritage extends back to the St. John's labs.

Puppies in May!

Well, it's nearing the end of April and our Bromley is about to become a mother once again. It's her favorite thing in the whole world. Really. We've never had a dog that loves puppies as much as Bromley. She enjoys them from beginning to end, even allowing nursing in the eighth week. Ordinarily, once pups transition to solid foods (around three to four weeks old) the mother starts to lose interest (or endurance?!), and by the time they leave she's almost anxious for the little ones to go. Not Bromley. She seems to miss her little 'uns once the leave.

For the moment, Bromley looks enormous, more so than at the same time with previous litters. It's hard to know if she'll have more than her usual 11 pups or if she's just carrying differently this time. We'll soon find out.

This litter will be all yellow. She's bred again with Bluckdux Shane, an AKC junior champion. They produced absolutely gorgeous pups last time, and we're looking forward to a good group this litter as well.