Monday, April 26, 2010

Sally playing with her boy!


Sally is so sweet. She has been raised with her boy and they obviously love each other! Sally and Ruby look very similar to each other. A golden retriever with whiskers! Whiskers aren't always a good thing for a girl, but I think Sally and Ruby are the exception.


Roca!



Roca was the smallest and darkest colored pup in Sutter and Sam's last litter. She is still a little bit smaller than the others, and still the darkest. But definitely one of the cutest. Her family says she is a great pet, walks easily on a leash and hasn't been a big digger or chewer. More of a bird chaser. The bird dog instinct seems to be thriving in this litter!


Sherman at 5 months

Here is Sherman at 5 months. He was the biggest boy out of Sutter and Sam's last litter. He is still big and chunky! At 6 months old, he was shorter than his sister Ruby, but out weighed her by 10 lbs. A big, soft, pretty boy!

Dana and Roux

Dana!


Dana after her haircut!

Dana and her half sister Roux. Roux's dad is Maxximus, the black standard poodle, where Dana's dad is Sam, the F1 goldendoodle. Roux is curlier and bigger and Dana is a little smaller and not quite as curly. They are both adorable.

Sisters!

Pregnant?

Well at first it seemed like Sutter was definitely pregnant. She even had a touch of morning sickness in week 3. And as we got to week 4, I could feel little walnuts in her uterus. I thought I felt 2, maybe 3. Usually for a full litter I can feel at least 4. I wasn't worried, yet. But as we got to week7, I usually can feel and see the puppies moving around. And her tummy just isn't that big. I was worried that it was too soon in her cycle to have bred her again - and it definitely was, I just got overly excited about having spring/summer puppies instead of fall/winter puppies. I should have waited until NEXT summer. So my fear was that there was going to be a litter of just one puppy again. Well that puppy turned out just fine, but it was miserable for us. A litter of 8 or 9 pups is easier that a single pup, believe it or not! But thankfully over the last 3-4 days I have been seeing and feeling pups move in her tummy and am pretty positive that there are at least 2 pups, maybe even 3 or 4! So not a full litter, but more than ONE!!! Yeah!!! I had her due date calculated at 4/25ish. Well that hasn't happened and since I was off on calculating her cycle, I am betting her due date is off about a week or so. That is why I couldn't feel puppies moving earlier! Sutter's eggs must have dropped about a week or so later than I thought and these pups have another week or so to cook before they come out!
So now I am revamping my plans and am actually excited for a smaller, more manageable litter. I was going to miss a couple of my boys dirtbike races and a trip to Oregon for a National race in June, but I think 2-4 pups can easily travel with us!
And this is going to be so much easier on Sutter. She is still bouncing around, jumping up the retaining wall in the backyard, jumping on my bed, not avoiding the stairs, etc. I just cut her hair off and she is a happy girl. I bet she will think nursing half a litter is a piece of cake! I know cleaning up after them will be a lot easier for me!
I have pics of pups from previous litters have I will post so everybody can see their progress and how cute they all are. I will get them up today.