Vera and Cooper’s Litter

We are so happy to welcome 9 beautiful new Teddy Bear Goldendoodles to our home! These sweeties were born December 2nd to Vera and Cooper. They will be ready to go home February 3rd.

All puppies are spoken for.

1.27.18

The matchup process is complete! I am so impressed with how wonderfully it all went! It is so exciting getting to know which puppy is yours! I really appreciated everyone’s patience and communication throughout the process.

If you haven’t already seen it, you should have an e-mail from me going over details for pickup day! Please let me know if you didn’t get it as it contains important information!

As pickup day rapidly approaches, now is the time to order your food and vitamins, if you haven’t already done so.

Here are your sweeties almost ready to come home!

1.19.18

Now begins the matchup process! I will start with the first person our list tonight so everyone has time to review and think about the puppies. This process can take a while so please be patient if you don’t hear from me for a few days. Also, please keep in mind there are other families waiting for their puppy match up after you! If you are not signed up for Puppy K this is the time to order your vitamins and food so it can be there when your puppy comes home!

Each puppy has their own video with us preforming the tests on them. Please review the test in order to see what behaviors the puppies exhibited to earn the results they got. Keep in mind, this is a guideline for you to use–not the final say on their personalities. You will definitely be able to tell they are siblings! And as the shy personalities get comfortable/older you may see them not as shy. The independent behaviors may also decrease as a puppy bonds with their family. Basically, please see this as a helpful tool but do not put too much into it. We have spent the last 7 weeks with them and can tell you they are all sweethearts! The hardest part is having to pick ONE! Hehe! …and oh my goodness…my face on the videos covers! haha!

*We have a huge announcement regarding pink….he’s a boy!!!! I apologize for the mixup…so glad we caught this now! lol You can watch the video for more info.

PINK

YELLOW

TEAL

GREEN

ORANGE

PURPLE

BLACK

BLUE

SILVER

Talk to you all soon!

1.12.18

Week 6 for these adorable little Teddy Bear Doodles!!!! This is an exciting and busy week as now we will begin temperament testing! Woo woo!

Here is how the match up process will work: Between now and then Jake and I will perform a temperament test on each of the puppies. We will video this process so you can see the exact responses from each puppy. I will post them next week for you to watch and review. Please read the article ahead of time so you know what tests we are doing and you can think about the kind of temperament you are looking for in a puppy.

*Keep in mind that with Golden Doodles there will not be any extremes and you are going to find more similarities between each of the puppies than differences. In addition, your puppy’s personality will be a combination of it’s nature and your nurture. So having a good training foundation is key. You can read through our Biggest Mistakes Made When Housebreaking to help you avoid pitfalls.

After we have done the temperament test with each of the puppies, we will look through all the applications and pick our top 2-3 puppies for what you were looking for. Then we call the first people on our list. Together we talk about the puppies that stood out to them and the puppies that stood out to us for them. After going over the test results and talking it through they will pick which one they want. Once they are matched up, we will repeat the process with the second people on our list and so on until everyone is matched up.

Often people are concerned with getting matched up with the “right puppy.” My advice is always to not worry about it! The process always feel very natural and organic. And remember–they are all super cute and it is hard to go wrong! The only problem I run into is when people have their mind set on ONE puppy and that puppy gets chosen. To avoid that, please keep an open mind and open heart to all of the puppies and narrow down your favorites to 3-4.

It is getting harder and harder to get a picture of these guys as they are growing in confidence and curiosity! They just want to move and so many of my pictures are blurry! lol But I got some great ones of each of them….I can hardly stand how sweet they are…

And Wyatt really wanted the puppy to give him kisses. So papa helped.

1.3.18

2018 already!!!! Happy New Year!

Week 5!!! We are enjoying these little guys more and more… I love this week because they really start to play with us!

Normally, I would ask everyone to start looking into the temperament test so they can be ready for matchup soon. But as we continue to study and learn we’ve found it is best to wait until the puppies are 7-8 weeks old before the temperament test is given. We are constantly trying to learn and strive for the best care and raising possible so we are going to implement this change with this litter. I am sure you are all anxious to know which adorable puppy will be yours but I think in the long run everyone will be happier knowing with more certainty what their personalities are really like. So this week, just continue to enjoy their sweetness! We will start the temperament tests when they are 7 weeks.

Here is a little video of them playing outside!

Weekly pictures:

And some more just for fun!

12.29.17

These growing puppies are making some big changes this week! Now, we have added in straw to their play area as mama is no longer cleaning up after them. They have more access to the outside (on the rare occasion it’s warm enough) and can be indoor or outdoor. Vera is starting to spend more time away from them as they grow in independence. We are not having to bottle feed any longer as the puppies are eating dog food! It’s mixed with water and turned to mush but Life’s Abundance is packed with nutrition!

If you haven’t already done so, this is the time when I recommend taking a look at the New Puppy Check List and start getting everything you need.

It is so much fun getting to see their little personalities show! We are seeing some of their coats and markings show through more prominently.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a fun and safe New Year!

I can hardly stand how adorable these guys are….

And some of them together…

12.22.17

I apologize for the late update! We unfortunately had a tragedy that took president. Two friends from college lost their little boy just a few days younger than our son. Needless to say we have been a wreck. The puppies have been a great source of comfort as we have cried and mourned. There is something soothing about routine and needing to care for little babes.

Apart from that, the puppies have been doing marvelously! We are going crazy over their cuteness and are definitely starting to see their “teddy bear-ness” come though!!!

Mama Vera is starting to enjoy some small periods of time away from her puppies but is always eager to get back to them.

This is a good time to start thinking about their transition home. It will be an adjustment for them going from the whelping box with their mama and siblings to a new home with new people! One of the things that helps is making as many things the same as possible. Smell is one of the major senses for pups so we will have a small lap size transition blanket for you on pickup day included in your puppy pack. We will rub this blanket on Vera so they can carry her sent home. I recommend putting it in their crate so they can sleep with it. Here is a list of the items I recommend for smoothing out the transition. All of these items are in our “recommended” list but it explains how/why it helps your puppy in its transition home plus some other tips.

Here is a little video of the sweeties:

Weekly pictures.

Puppy pile!!!

And our snuggly boy with snuggly puppies!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!

12.13.17

Two weeks old today!!! Getting nice and plump and sweeter by the day! As you can see in their pictures, they have started to open their eyes and are getting a lot more mobile. Though they aren’t walking quite yet, they are starting to take some bigger steps. This week, we also cut their nails and daily stroke them from head to toe–so they are used to it. This makes grooming them when they are bigger much easier for you and the groomer. They continue to spend all their time sleeping and eating mama’s milk. Since they are all doing so well, they no longer need to have goat milk supplementation as they are each big enough to get their share!

This week has been busy for us as we prepare for the holidays and care for the puppies. Finally got our Christmas tree up and decorated! Ahh! I also teach dance and we are rehearsing for our Christmas show this weekend! We are immensely enjoying this sunshine and are so thankful for a break from the rain!!! It makes walking Vera much more enjoyable! While we don’t have a lot of property ourselves, we have the great fortune of generous neighbors. They have a 100 acre dairy farm and the most beautiful country road that leads to the river. Vera LOVES walking the winding road and playing in the water! The early sunset has us enjoying the “golden hour” and all the beauty that comes with it. Here are some pictures from our walks this week:

I have added a Puppy Kindergarten class for Vera’s litter so you are able to sign up if you’d like your puppy to participate. Puppy Kindergarten is when you puppy stays with us for an extra week and we do the first week of potty training and crate training. If you have the time/energy/will to do this training yourself, it is a great bonding time. However, it does help smooth out the transition home and by the end of the week they will be sleeping around 7-8 hours and able to hold their bladders for 30-45 min. And there will still be lots of training needed afterwards! Check out the link for more details and information. I will only be opening up 5 spots as that is our max in order to ensure proper training and attention for the puppies in class.

Either way, here is a list of the items I recommend for smoothing out the transition. I have a transition blanket already for your puppy and is included in your “puppy pack.” All of these items are in our “recommended” list but it explains how/why it helps your puppy in its transition home.

Here are their weekly pictures for you to melt over! Ahhhh!!!!! 🙂

Getting their nails done!

And some more adorableness of them together….

12.8.17

Vera has a very content disposition and we had a hard time telling she was in labor. But digging at the floor and seeing her contractions gave her away! She did amazing!!! She had 5 boys and 4 girls. The first 48 hours are critical when working with puppies. This is the point where they are nursing and with 8 other brothers and sisters for competition for milk they can lose out on their share. Because she had a larger litter, we have separated them into two groups to give everyone a chance to nurse and we switch them out. Jake and I keep a constant watch on them to make sure they have a good body temperature and are hydrated. If they need it, we will help them out by supplementing a feeding with goats milk….It’s just about the most adorable thing. We feed the puppy with a bottle and snuggle them! 🙂 The first week they spend all their time with Vera nursing and sleeping. They haven’t opened their eyes yet and cannot crawl though they are quite mobile and can find mama’s milk wherever she is!

What can I do now?

The next step is to enjoy these precious little ones!! You still have 9 weeks (10 if you sign up for puppy k) so you have plenty of time to get things ready to bring them home.

Here are some other articles as we begin this process that I hope will be helpful:

10 Tips For First Time Puppy Parents

How To Puppy Proof Your Home

Mostly, this is the watching and waiting time. Each week I will post updates for you to enjoy! I will also include more instructions/recommendations as we get to them.

If you are wanting your puppy to participate in Puppy Kindergarten they will be ready to go home February 10th. We will only open up 5 spots for Puppy K to ensure individualized attention and training for those that sign up. Puppy K is an extra week with us where we do the first week of potty training and crate training. It can also be a nice stepping stone for transitioning home with you. I’ll share more on how to help your puppy transition home in the next couple of weeks. To read more about the program and/or to sign up, check out our Puppy Kindergarten page.

Which puppy is mine?

Many people are eager to know which puppy will be theirs. I know it can seem impossible right now to have to pick just one!

Here is how this process will work: Since they are still so little, it is hard to determine their personalities and coats. When the puppies are 6 1/2 to 7 weeks old we can see their personalities more and will preform a temperament test on each puppy. Then I will read through everyone’s application and pick out my top 2-3 puppies for each family. After watching the videos, I will ask you to do the same. Then I will call the first applicant and review our picks until they have picked out a puppy. I will repeat the process with the second applicant and so on until everyone is matched up.

DON’T WORRY! This is a smooth and simple process and it has gone wonderfully every time! My only caution is to not get your heart set on “one puppy.” Instead, I ask that you keep your heart open to all the puppies. And for now, just sit back and enjoy ALL their cuteness!

Here are they are!