Category: Echo & Riggs 2023

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Echo’s Adorable Seven Weeks Old Puppies

Looking Back

Echo’s puppies are now seven week old . The puppies had an exciting week experiencing new things. Saturday they met their forever families who will soon be their world. They love outdoor play time where they get lots of exercise running and playing with everyone! The puppies have now made the transition to eating dry kibble.

Puppy Selection Day

Tom and I had a great time on Saturday meeting all the forever families and introducing them to their puppy. It is a day that we always look forward to because we love to show off our adorable puppies and share the excitement with their forever families.

It was a long day for our puppies interacting with so many people but a great opportunity for socializing the puppies with new people. I was very proud of our puppies! Puppies are full of energy but, I’m sure you can agree that the work put into the puppies over the past 7 weeks has produced a confident, gentle nature.

The puppies still sleep much of their time. They play hard for short periods of time and then drop off to sleep. When the day was over we had a litter of very tired puppies. After the last family left, the puppies ate their dinner and had a good long nap.

Becoming More Independent

The puppies are learning daily. They have learned to go outside and back inside on their own (without my help). Maui “the nanny” helps guide them. She loves socializing the puppies and teaching them.

(You can hear our other dogs in the background barking as the puppies come out 🥺)

Looking Ahead to Week Eight

  • Puppies will continue exploring and playing together inside and outdoors as weather permits
  • The puppies will get to run in the BIG yard where we will work on recall
  • Echo along with our other dogs will continue teaching the puppies dog manners
  • Crate training begins
  • We will continue to encourage puppies to use potty area 
  • Puppies head to the Vet on Wednesday for their wellness check, first set of shots and their microchip
  • Puppies will continue to get lots of cuddle time
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Look At How Cute Our Five Week Old Puppies Are

LOOKING BACK

Echo’s puppies are now five weeks old. They have developed from helpless newborn puppies to the “mini dogs” they are today. The puppies are now awake for longer periods and enjoy playing with their toys, each other, and cuddle time. We can now see their personalities starting to develop.

It is important when raising puppies to socialize them which means introducing them to as many new experiences as possible when they are young. Some of the new things that the puppies have been introduced to this week are: crates, different floor surfaces, new toys, the outside, and our other adult dogs.

Our puppy area. The puppy area has been expanded, the whelping box has been removed and we have added crates to the area.

Potty Training

We have been working hard on training puppies to use the potty box both inside and now outside. Some of the puppies are more consistent than others but, all the puppies are making great progress. It’s amazing to watch puppies wake up or stop playing and go over to use their potty box.

Inside
Outside

Meal Time

Puppies are always excited when they smell the food being prepared. They are now eating three meals of puppy mush a day along with drinking plenty of fresh filtered water. The puppies are still nursing from their mama any chance they get but Echo limits this and is beginning to tell them “NO”!

Puppy Parties

One of the bonus of having a large family is get togethers. This past Easter weekend has been a busy one at our house with three days of sharing meals with our families and three days of “Puppy Parties”. The puppies were held, cuddled and played with by both young and old. They especially love playing with my grandchildren and interacting with them. After many play sessions, the puppies were tired out and settled in for a long nap.

Adult Dog Interaction

When the puppies play outside it is a great time to introduce them to our other adult dogs. During this time I always keep a watchful eye to make sure everyone is getting along. It is also important that the puppies have somewhere to escape to feel safe and that our adult dogs have a way of escape from the puppies. This is why we make sure our adult dogs can come in and out of the fenced area on the deck as they please and our puppies can retreat to their safe place which is under the chairs.

Fun Outside

When our puppies turn five weeks old we introduce them to the outdoors. This is always an exciting time watching them explore and discover.

Things to Watch for in the video

  • puppies “safe place “where they have their naps outside
  • potty box where we are trying to teach the puppies to go while outside.
  • Maui the puppy nanny interacting with the puppies. Maui plays an important role helping mama Echo teach our puppies proper “dog manners“

Puppy Pics

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK SIX

  • Awake time will continue to increase
  • Puppies will continue learning to use potty box both indoor and outdoors
  • Socialize with each other through play
  • Balance will continue to improve.
  • Daily Outdoor play time as weather permits
  • Puppies will continue learning from their mama and our other adult dogs as they teach them dog manners
  • As always, puppies will get lots of cuddle time.
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A Look At Our Beautiful Four Week Pups’ Singles

Puppy Photo Shoot

When we have puppies to raise our days are very busy. There are so many thing to do such as feeding, potty training, cleaning the puppy area, and laundry to mention a few, it’s a full time job. And let’s not forget cuddling Echo’s sweet babies! So, adding an extra task to my day can be stressful.

On Tuesday, which was one day late, I added the task of The Four Week Old Puppy Photo Shoot to my day. Because puppies are always curious and want to explore. this is always a daunting time for me and can be very stressful. The reason is because four week old puppy never want to stay still and look 👀 at the camera! Can you believe they haven’t learned the command STAY yet -LOL!!

But on Tuesday I was pleasantly surprised! As most of the puppies were very co-operative I was amazed at how quickly my photo shoot went! We were able to capture those adorable faces with minimal stress. After the photo shoot was complete I felt so satisfied with the amazing results!!!

It wasn’t until I had finished and was looking over the photos trying to choose the best pics that I realized I forgotten something. It was the cute coloured collars that I prepared for the photo shoot which had flowers for the girls and bow ties for the boys . Oh well, the puppy pics without their collars would have to do because I definitely was not going to do it again 😂

The Girls

Yellow Collar Girl
Orange Collar Girl
Red Collar Girl
Green Collar Girl
Purple Collar Girl
Pink Collar Girl

The Boys

White Collar Boy
Grey Collar Boy
Dark Blue Collar Boy
Black Collar Boy
Light Blue Collar Boy
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Echo’s Sweet Puppies – Week 2

Two Weeks Old

LOOKING BACK

Echo’s sweet puppies are now two weeks old and growing bigger and more adorable with each passing day. Echo continues to be an amazing mama taking wonderful care of her babies!!

We have had another busy week and the puppies have made so much progress. We have fallen into a daily routine. Most of the puppies’ time is spent eating and sleeping. In addition to this, we continue the ENS exercises and weigh-in for each puppy. The puppies are moving faster and when Echo returns to the whelping box the puppies scurry around ready for another meal.

Weight-in

We continue to weigh the puppies daily and keep a record of their progress

Double BirthWeight Milestone

Echo had done an amazing job feeding her puppies. All our puppies have been gaining weight daily. Puppies should double their birth weight between 7 – 10 days. The first puppy doubled her birth weight on day 7 and the rest followed over the next few days. All our puppies have doubled their birthweight and continue to grow with each passing day.

As you know, the Goldendoodle breed is an intentional mix of Poodle and Golden Retriever. We breed Standard Size with a weight range of 50 – 75+ pounds. Riggs who is the stud of Echo’s litter is 55 pounds, so I expected some puppies to be smaller than our previous litters. We have a few smaller puppies in this litter. The below picture shows the comparison of our largest puppy and our smallest puppy. (Both are males)

Light Blue Collar Boy on the left and White Collar Boy on the right

Feeding Time

Echo has a large litter of 11 but can only feed 8 puppies at a time. At first Echo was constantly in the whelping box and puppies just cycled through taking their turn eating without any intervention on my part. Now that Echo spends time away from her whelping box when she returns, all the puppies want to eat. So, I have had to step in and put three puppies into a “waiting box” until some puppies have finished nursing. It is important that all the puppies get their fair share of mama’s milk.

See puppies sleeping in the “waiting box” while the rest of the litter nurse.

LOOK AT THOSE BEAUTIFUL EYES

The puppies have reached another Milestone. On Thursday I was excited to see that Grey Collar Boy had opened his eyes. Over the next few days, the rest of the puppies’ eyes began to open. Though they cannot see well yet, it is always exciting when the puppies’ eyes open – they seem to come alive. Their vision will continue to improve over the next weeks.

Transitional Period

The first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life are incredibly important. This is an almost magical time when a breeder has the power to change the outcome of a puppy’s life by what we choose to teach them. By doing just the right things at just the right time, we can give your puppy the best start possible.

Now that the puppies’ eyes have opened they have entered the Transitional Period. Every puppy is different so “Behavioural Markers” are used to identify the beginning and end of each developmental period. These timelines are simply guidelines. The transitional period begins when the puppy’s eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing sounds. 

Daily cuddles

Puppy socialization starts at birth. We handle our puppies as soon as their mamas feel comfortable and give them all daily cuddles.

My grandchildren are great helpers with this. I love to share this learning experience with them; teaching them to love and respect animals and to be gentle.

Today my two-year-old granddaughter helped me hold and cuddle all the puppies 🥰

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😊

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LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK THREE

  • Puppies will continue to eat and sleep most of their day
  • Puppies will continue growing 
  • Sight will slowly improve 
  • Puppies ears will open and they will begin to hear.
  • Puppies will practice walking on all fours, strengthening their hind legs
  • Puppies will become more aware and start to interact with their litter-mates
  • Puppies will start to vocalize
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Echo’s puppies – One Week Old

Looking Back

One week old

Our precious puppies are now one week old. We have had a busy week caring for Echo and helping her care for her babies. Echo suffered loose stools for a few day which a common occurrence after whelping. She also took a couple days to get an appetite. We put Echo on a diet of boiled chicken and rice with an added probiotic supplement. Echo didn’t want to leave her puppies so I fed her inside her whelping box. She recovered quickly after a couple days of this diet and is now eating well on her regular diet.

Neonatal Period

The puppies are in the Neonatal Period which is from day 0 to day 14. During this period, puppies spend their time eating and sleeping. On day 3 we began ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) which continues through day 16. We preform ENS daily during our weigh-in time. Research shows these tiny struggles and stresses in small doses are good for puppies. Benefits from ENS include greater tolerance to stress, greater resistance to disease, faster adrenal system, stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeat. This is a gift that a breeder can only give their puppies during the 3 to 16-day window.

Puppy Twitches

The above videos show sleeping puppies “twitch” This is a sign of a healthy puppy.

Feeding

Before puppies are born, they receive immunity and everything they need to grow from the placenta. After birth newborn puppies do not possess immunity. A mothers first milk called colostrum is a protein-rich, nutritious, balanced, and protective food. The special milk provides passive immunity which can last several weeks and protect them from various infections and diseases. For this reason, the first twelve hours after birth it is vital for the puppies to nurse frequently and build up their passive immunity. (Passive immunity is the short-term immunity which results from the introduction of antibodies from the puppy’s mother. Compare with active immunity – the immunity which results from the production of antibodies by the immune system in response to the presence of an antigen)

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. Puppies are born with a natural instinct to nurse but as the days pass, they have become more proficient at it. The puppies are now experts at nursing! As you watch the video below, listen to the cute little sounds the puppies make as they nurse – so precious !

Echo is an amazing, attentive mama. She has a large litter of eleven babies and is not able to feed all the puppies at once. She has done an amazing job feeding her babies and cycling them through. She is very dedicated and stays with her babies around the clock.

With a large litter, we have to keep a close eye making sure all the puppies are getting their fair share of milk. We weight our puppies daily and keep records to track their progress. Some of our puppies are putting weight on quicker than others but, all our puppies are gaining weight daily. Good job Echo!

For the first two weeks of their life newborn puppies spend their time eating and sleeping.

LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK TWO

  • Much the same as week one – Eat, Sleep, Repeat!
  • Puppies will continue growing 
  • Puppies still crawl; hind legs will become stronger
  • Eyes should begin to open towards the end the week – so exciting !!!
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Introducing Our First Litter of Parti Puppies

The past few days we have been busy with limited sleep helping Echo care for our tiny new arrivals. With 11 puppies to feed, it can be a challenge making sure everyone is getting their fair share of milk. Puppies can lose up to 10% of their birth weight the first day. I was pleased that 10 of the eleven puppies gained weight after their first day. Good Job Echo! 

What are Parti Puppies

Parti is a pattern of colouring observed in the dog’s coat characterized by a white base colour of at least 50% with random patches of another colour such as black, brown, apricot, red, merle, etc. Each puppy has their own unique pattern. The Parti Gene is recessive so, both parents must carry the parti gene to produce a Parti Goldendoodle. It has been over two years in the making and we are excited welcome our first litter of Standard Parti Goldendoodles. We have a variety of colours in both Parti and Solid Abstracts. Below are Echo’s babies’ newborn single pictures. 

The Boys

White Collar Boy – Chocolate abstract – Birth Weight 365 grams
Grey Collar Boy- Blonde abstract – Birth Weight 380 grams
Dark Blue Collar Boy – Chocolate Parti – Birth Weight 364 grams
Black Collar Boy – Blonde abstract – Birth Weight 271 grams
Light Blue Collar Boy – Chocolate abstract – Birth Weight 216 grams

The Girls

YellowCollar Girl – Black Parti – Birth Weight 382 grams
Purple Collar Girl – Blonde Parti – Birth Weight 324 grams
Orange Collar Girl – Black Tuxedo Parti – Birth Weight 279 grams
Pink Collar Girl – Blonde Parti – Birth Weight 347 grams
Red Collar Girl – Chocolate abstract- Birth Weight 329 grams
Green Collar Girl – Blonde Parti – Birth Weight 277 grams