CAICOS - 1997-2009 "The Matriarch"

It's an end to an era... regretfully, our grand dam Caicos passed away today, ending a wonderful life she gave us these past 11+ years.

Caicos Bill Leigh of Penbeck, arrived in Massachusetts on Oct 20, 1997. In early December of that year she joined our household and wiggled her way into our hearts. Maybe it was going to the bathroom on Kyra on the trip home from the breeder's, or her stealing of sandwiches and lunchbags from the construction crew that built our addition 10 years ago, or her 'skidaddle' scamper around the yard or... any and all of these events made Caicos a special dog.

She was a great swimmer and diver -- she loved jumping off the Connecticut River Museum dock for tennis balls and even this summer she found the strength to dive into the pool for frisbees and balls, a true lab retriever. Caicos had a penchant for rocks, with the ability to find rocks we never knew existed beneath our yard. Frustrating for us but, looking back, it brings a chuckle to see the twinkle in her eye and the dirt on her tongue as she caressed each rock between her front paws, licking it clean.

Caicos became known as the Matriarch, giving birth to several litters of puppies that fanned out across New England and brought happiness to so many families, including ours, for we kept two of her offspring, our Bromley and Mingus. Caicos loved puppies and even after she stopped having her own she still enjoyed climbing in the whelping box and playing nursemaid to her 'grandpups'. The puppies would jump on her, pull and bite her ears and she enjoyed every minute, only voicing disapproval when a wayward pup would try to muscle in on Caicos' food bowl while she was eating!

Caicos enjoyed trips to Vermont, going for hikes, romping in the snow, and swimming in the ponds and rivers around Bromley Mountain. Here in Connecticut she loved the beach, chasing after sticks thrown into waves or after seagulls strutting on the sand. She wasn't our first lab but she had a lot of 'firsts' for us. We're saddened by our loss but gladdened in having had her a part of our family for all these many years. Rest in peace, Caicos.

One Snowflake remains

Nearly all of the pups are now living with their families, with Kris Kringle being picked up in Vermont to join his new family as "Willie" in Connecticut. Thus, we have only Snowflake still available. And what a doll she is! She's having the time of her life with her extended family of five labrador retriever aunts, sister, grandmother, and mother. They all get in a good 60-90 minutes of fun before Snowflake retires for a morning snooze and the lunch. Then another round of play time... and so it goes. Turns out she loves the snow (we've been in Vermont for the past 10 days)--living up to her name!

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...

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!

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.

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!!!

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...

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.

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.

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...

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!

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!