Author: admin

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We have a routine on go-home day – bath, nails trimmed and blow-dry. Some puppies tolerate the blow-dryer longer than others. I don’t want to stress the puppies out too much so the puppies finish air drying. We then give them a final brush.

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Our mama “wears” the go-home blankets to put her scent on it. Our puppies put the littermate scent on the “snuggle puppies”. These familiar scents can be a comfort to a puppy in their new environment.

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Then, it is time for our Puppy Go-Home Pics – Such Adorable Puppies!!! 🥰

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Our puppies are now ready and waiting to go to their Forever Homes with their Forever Families.

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It is always a bittersweet time when puppies go to their forever homes. It is hard to say goodbye to my puppies 🥲. I have loved and cared for them for the first 8+ weeks of their lives – we put our heart into each puppy we raise ❤️ It brings me joy to share in the excitement of our forever families as they pick up their new puppy.

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One Puppy Remaining

We have one puppy left – Purple Collar Girl. I’m sure she is wondering “Where did my littermates go?” Her forever family made arrangements for her to stay a little longer. She will be leaving on Tuesday but, until then, she is one of the family. After all the puppies left we headed outside to the yard and filled the pool with water for the dogs to cool off😅 All the dogs then headed back to the deck for a long deserved rest. Raising puppies is hard work!! 🐾

Yesterday – May 11 – Vet Visit

Yesterday the puppies had their first car ride to the veterinarians. We pack our eight puppies into the crate in our truck and made the fifteen minute car ride. A couple of puppies whined for the first part of our trip but they soon settled down any nobody experienced and car sickness.

Tom and I have done this many times and we have the process down pat. Tom waits with the puppies at the truck and I carry the puppies two by two in to see Dr. Westermann. Each puppy receives a full wellness check, their first set of vaccinations and then the dreaded microchip needle. The first two puppies we took in were Blue Collar Boy and Magenta Collar Girl. I thought the puppy carrier was heavier than usual and then remembered the puppies usually go to the vet at seven weeks of age – what a difference a week makes!

First puppy was Blue Collar Boy. After his wellness exam and weigh-in, he received his vaccine needle with no complaint. Then it was time for the BIG Microchip needle. He sure let us know with a big “Yelp” that it hurt – LOL! The girls followed the same routine but, not a peep out of anyone. I guess they wanted to show Blue Boy how tough they were!

I’m happy to report that Dr. Westermann gave all our puppies a clean bill of health and commented at how calm and well behaved every puppy was. It is always nice to have positive feedback on my puppies and to know that all the hard work we put into raising them pays off!

After the puppies came back home, they went outside on the deck with their mama. Somehow, I think Ellie sensed that her puppies’ needed a little TLC after their trip to the vet because Ellie let her puppies nurse. She is a loving, patient mama and has done a wonderful job raising her puppies!

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Today – May 12 – Puppies last full day together

Today is the puppies last full day together before they start to head home to their forever families. We had a beautiful sunny warm day and decided to introduce the puppies to water. My big dogs (except Ellie) love the pool on a hot day to cool off. While the puppies were napping, Tom got the pool out and washed away the winter debris before adding some water. It was very shallow because we don’t want to scare the puppies. I was excitedly waiting for the puppies to wake up. When we put the puppies in one by one, they didn’t linger to play. Some puppies had a little drink and then jumped back out. Purple Collar Girl was the fastest to get out – she wanted no part of it – LOL!

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LOOKING BACK

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Eight weeks have passed since Ellie’s babies came into the world and filled our days. Remember how tiny they were…..I could hold them in the palm of my hand. They have learned so much over these past eight weeks. This past week we have worked on what is acceptable behaviour – sit to get picked up, play nice, kisses (not nips).

We have also challenge puppies to use their brain. One such challenge was to descend the rock steps to get to the big yard. Willow’s puppies faced this challenge with much more ease but, every litter is different and learn at their own pace. The video’s and pics below show the puppies at seven weeks old facing this challenge. (Note – Willow’s puppies are whining in the background of these videos – they want to join Ellie’s puppies 😂)

Time to Close the Gate

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With lots of encouragement, all Ellie’s puppies finally made it down and enjoyed their reward – to run and explore the yard together.

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What a difference a week makes!

Over the past week the puppies worked on this challenge – what a difference a week makes!

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LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK Nine

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• Puppies will continue exploring and playing together inside and outdoors as weather permits
• Puppies will work on recall
• Puppies will continue learning from their mama, littermates, and our other dogs
• Puppies will go to the Vet for their wellness check, vaccinations and microchip
• We will continue to encourage puppies to use potty box 
• Puppies will leave for the forever homes at the end of the week
• Puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time

Just a quick post – can we have too many puppy pics? Never! 💕

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The rain has stopped,, and we finally have a beautiful sunny warm day. Though our yard is still very wet and muddy we took the puppies out to play in the yard. They had so much fun running, exploring, and chasing each other. The puppies’ mama’s Willow and Ellie and Daddy Brinkley along with Grandma Ruska and Nanny Maui enjoyed teaching and playing with them – Our big dogs love it when the puppies join them in the yard! 💕

It is difficult to keep track of eleven puppies with so many hiding places even with the help my daughter and husband Tom. Our time to work on recall has been limited because of so many rainy days but, the puppies are learning to come running to me when they hear “puppy, puppy” called. We are then able to do a puppy count 🐾

After a long play secession, eleven tired, muddy puppies found their way to the swing in the rear of our yard for a large puppy-huddle nap. Ellie and Brinkley kept watch.

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LOOKING BACK

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Eight weeks have passed since Willow’s babies came into the world and filled our days. Remember how tiny they were…..I could hold them in the palm of my hand. They have learned so much over these past eight weeks. I have enjoyed raising them to the point where they are ready to join their forever families. This past week we have worked on what is acceptable behaviour – sit to get picked up, play nice, kisses (not nips). Puppies are not always consistent but, have made great progress. I just love puppy kisses!!!

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LOOKING AHEAD

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Puppies are going to their forever homes. Lots of work lies ahead for your family as you continue teaching your puppy! They are still learning, but the time and work you put in pays off when you have a loving well behaved dog that will love you as only a dog can – unconditionally. You will be the most important person in the world to them. 

It is always bittersweet saying goodbye to our puppies. I have enjoyed every minute of their care and they have a piece of my heart. It is through tears🥲 I say goodbye to each puppy, but it brings me joy to see each excited family! I know that our puppies are joining such wonderful forever families who will love them as they deserve 💕

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Yesterday, Tuesday, May 3rd

The puppies had a lazy morning yesterday. The puppies ate their breakfast and had a short outdoor play secession before settling down for a nap.

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Three of Willow’s puppies went to their forever homes yesterday – it was time to prepare for their forever families. We bathed them, trimmed their nails , blow dried them, and gave them a few extra cuddles.

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After Willow’s three boy’s left, the eleven remaining puppies enjoyed a late lunch and play time on the deck.

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LOOKING BACK

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Wow, Ellie’s puppies are now seven-week-old. They continue to grow more adorable with each passing day. They love outdoor play time where they get lots of exercise running and playing with each other. The puppies have now made the transition to eating dry kibble puppy food. They grow up so fast!

I have been wanting to take both litters into the big yard to run and play together but, it has been raining the last couple days making the yard very wet and muddy. Since today is Willow’s puppies last day together before they start heading to their forever homes, it was now or never.

We started with just Ellie’s puppies. I thought it would be a great challenge for them to figure out how to go down the rock steps. So, we put them on the step outside of the deck puppy enclosure and tried to encourage them to come down. This didn’t work out as planned. The puppies climbed back into the enclosure again. Yes, this proves that Ellie baby’s her puppies! LOL We would have to try again but, this time we would close the gate. After a great deal of coaxing, some of the puppies started to make their way down and the remainder finally followed their littermates. Ellie enjoyed having her puppies with her in the yard on their own. After a while we let Willow’s puppies join in the fun. When play time was over, we had lots of muddy puppies but, Ellie’s Magenta Collar Girl won “The Muddiest Puppy” title – LOL!

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LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK EIGHT

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• Puppies will continue exploring and playing together inside and outdoor as weather permits
• Puppies will start closed door crate training
• Puppies will be introduced to the leash
• Puppies will work on recall
• Puppies will continue learning from their their mama and our other dogs
• We will continue to encourage puppies to use potty box 
• Puppies will say good-bye to Willow’s litter as they head to their forever homes
• Puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time

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Ellie’s and Willow’s Puppies

Just a short post on a Saturday. The Puppies love outdoor play and lots a cuddles.

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It’s Friday

It is a warm day with lots of sunshine. This morning we took all the puppies and my grandchildren out to the deck for morning outdoor play. Our two litters of puppies are interacting very well together – they chase each other, wrestle, and play tug of war. When they tire out, they cuddle together for a nap.

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Yesterday Willow’s had a great adventure – they went out of their puppy enclosure on the deck and explored the BIG yard. We put them on the step, and it was up to them to come down. This is a great exercise for the puppies to use their brains. Watch the videos below to see the puppies figure out how to descend the steps. They did a great job and when they finished, they got to run and play in the yard.

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The big dogs love having the puppies join them in the big yard. There is lots of room for the puppies to sniff new things, explore, run, and play. This gives the big dogs teaching time with the puppies. Watch Willow teaching her puppies to submit. She will work with them one on one – the goal is for the puppy to lay on their back – the summit position.

It is still wet and muddy in many areas in our yard; the puppies got a little muddy but that didn’t matter to them. They had a great time and afterwards a long nap!

Willow’s Puppies

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LOOKING BACK

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Willow’s puppies are now seven week old. They continue to grow bigger and more adorable each day. The puppies are full of energy and curious about everything. They love outdoor play time where they get lots of exercise running and playing with each other. Puppies have now made the transition to eating dry kibble puppy food. They are truly growing up!

We had a busy day yesterday – The puppies visited the Stouffville Veterinary Clinic for their wellness check, immunizations and microchips. We loaded the crate into the truck along with Willow’s puppies for their first car ride. We have about a fifteen minute drive to our vet and all our puppies did very well. They were quite most of the way and no-one was car sick.

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It is a two person job when we take our litters to the vet. Tom keeps watch at the truck with the puppies while I shuttle the puppies two at a time for their visit.

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We had two of our grandchildren with us yesterday. Our granddaughter stayed in her car seat and we kept her busy with some snacks. Our grandson was pappa’s big helper keeping watch over the puppies while they waited for their turn.

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Dr. Westermann gave our puppies a full health check, their first immunizations, and their microchip. The immunization needle is so small, most of the puppies didn’t react. When it came time for the microchip which is a much bigger needle, we had a couple of brave puppies that only let out a small whimper but most of the puppies let us know that they didn’t appreciate it. LOL!

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LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK EIGHT

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• Puppies will continue exploring and playing together inside and outdoor as weather permits
• Puppies will start crate and leash training
• Puppies will get to explore the big yard
• Puppies will continue learning from their their mama and our other dogs
• We will continue to encourage puppies to use potty box 
• Puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time

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Ellie’s Puppies

What do puppies do? – Eat, Play and Sleep – on the floor, in the crate, and the famous doodle position, on their back!