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AUGUST 5TH, 2020 – DAY 7 – 1 WEEK OLD

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Wow, 7 days have past so quickly and our babies are already one week old! For the first few weeks of life, a puppy cannot regulate their own body temperature. They need a warm space, their mother and littermates to help keep them warm. Puppies are born with their eyes and ears sealed shut; they cannot see or hear. They have to rely on “smell” and “touch” to find their mother.

Ruska is a great mom. For the first few days of the puppies lives she spent all her time in the whelping box with the them, keeping them warm, clean and making sure they nursed often. For the last few days she has been spending some time away from them but still runs upstairs regularly to check on them. The puppies have become experts at nursing; they can smell when Ruska returns to the whelping box. They wake and make a mad dash to find her and begin their next meal.

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LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK TWO

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• Much the same as week one – Eat, Sleep, Repeat!
• Puppies will continue growing and should double their birth weight at around 10 days
• Puppies still crawl; hind legs will become stronger
• Eyes should begin to open towards the end the 2nd week – so exciting !!!

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(Some content may be missing – to view full post go to the website)

During the first few days of the puppies lives, Ruska would only leave them for bathroom breaks. She would run the perimeter of our yard and then, right back to her puppies.. Ruska like most mothers is very protective of her babies. Our other dogs would wait outside our bedroom to see the puppies, Ruska would give them a quick peak and then made sure they knew who was in charge!

Over the last couple days we have fallen into a routine. The puppies are now getting the regular milk and are satisfied for a longer time in-between feedings. Ruska has an around the clock job feeding and cleaning. Newborn puppies spend the first two weeks of life eating, getting cleaned by their mama, and sleeping.

Sleeping Puppies

We have been busy caring for both Ruska and her new puppies. Ruska is an amazing mama. She is loving and protective and constantly caring for her babies. Because she has 11 puppies, she can not feed everyone at the same time; they have to feed in shifts. We give extra attention making sure all the puppies get their share of milk. I continue to be pleased at our morning weigh in ………. everyone is gaining nicely!

It was an exciting day today. My daughter-in-law is an amazing photographer and came with her family today to do our singles. It was not an easy feat. Co-operation was not on the puppies agenda but, our photographer has an abundance of patience and she did an superb job! Thank you Eryn!

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The Boys

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The Girls

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Now that things have calmed down and we are in a routine, I wanted to share a few pictures from our July 29th Whelp. It was a long week trying to be patient waiting for our puppies to arrive. After a week of disrupted sleep, waking up each night and checking on Ruska, I was not well rested when the main event began. On the afternoon of the 28th, we were certain Ruska was finally in labor, She spent a restless evening between our sofa and floor. Ruska started to deliver puppies early morning just after 2 am and continued for 12 hours until 2 pm when she delivered her 11th puppy. My daughter was a great help to me durning the whelping process and my husband Tom kept the coffee coming and preparing food for us. Ruska, the star of the Whelp, did an amazing job! Each time I see a puppy born I’m reminded of creation, the miracle of birth and am again amazed at the natural instincts animals have been given!.

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We have been busy with little sleep making sure our tiny new arrivals are getting their share of milk. Puppies can loose up to 10% of their birth weight the first day. I was pleased this morning at weigh in. Most of our puppies only lost 2-3% of their birth weight and we even had two puppies gain. Yeah, good job Ruska!

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L.A. Doodles is proud to announce the arrival of Tulo and Ruska’s litter of F2B Goldendoodles

Born July 29, 2020

They welcomed 11 puppies – 5 boys and 6 girls

We are all very tired after over 12 hours of whelping that started with the first puppy arriving at 2 am. It is going to be a full time job making sure everyone is being fed. Ruska did an amazing job!

Check back soon for more photos

We have had many inquires the past couple days from families, so I wanted to give an update on Ruska and her expectant litter of puppies ……. Ruska is doing well, – getting lots of rest, love and pampering. Her tummy continues to expand which I’m sure is making her more uncomfortable with each passing day. I am doing my best to be patient. I get up in the middle of the night just to check on her and when I wake in the morning I’m disappointed that we are still waiting to meet our little ones. It reminds me of my own pregnancies. I was overdue and with each passing day getting more impatient!

The puppies are still very active and when we place our hand on her tummy it is easy to feel them moving. It is always exciting for me when I listen to the puppies heartbeats but Ruska is never keen on the idea. I don’t think she likes the noise from the doppler LOL. I thought you might also enjoy hearing them so I enlisted the help of my daughter and she videoed for me to share. Enjoy!

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Listening for puppy heartbeats

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It’s difficult to predict an exact due date with dogs. Ruska’s previous litters of puppies came at the beginning of her “whelping window” but, with this pregnancy it is not the case. We are now on day 65. It is not unheard of that dogs don’t deliver until day 68 -70. She was bred with Tulo three times over a 5 day period. Multiple breedings are done because you’re guessing when your female is ovulating. I believe she did not conceive during the first and second mating. The third mating is when she conceived, making a later whelping date. We will have to continue to be patient! Not easy for me or our families waiting for the news! 

Everything is ready and we are waiting with anticipation . Ruska has slowed down the last couple days and getting lots of rest. I am sure she is getting uncomfortable as her tummy grows larger with each passing day. Gestation period for puppies is anywhere from 58 day to 65 days; we are on Day 61. Hopefully our whelping box will be full of puppies very soon!  I will post the news when they arrive.

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Ruska and Tulo’s F2B Goldendoodles

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Due date: July 23, 2020

Ruska is a Apricot F1 Standard Goldendoodle weighing 58 lbs. Tulo is a Cream F1B Standard Goldendoodle weighing 70 lbs.. This is their third litter of puppies. They have produced beautiful calm puppies and we have had glowing feedback from their wonderful families.

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Ellie and Brinkley’s Multi-generation (F2bb) Goldendoodles

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Due Date: August 12, 2020

Ellie is our fun loving Cafe au Lait Standard Poodle weighing 50 lbs.. Brinkley is our calm gentle F2B Flat coat Goldendoodle weighing 75 lbs. This is their first mating. They both have loving gentle dispositions which they should pass on to their puppies.

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If you would like to be added to our waiting list for either litter, please follow instructions via the contact page.

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We are excited and looking forward to another litter of puppies. Ruska was bred to Tulo the last week of May. If all goes well, puppies will be due July 26, 2020.

Our waiting list is open and we already have families interested in this litter. If you would like to be added to our wait list, or have any questions you may contact us through our contact page