Cottage Doodles

Four cute little boys

For look a likes, these brothers are quite a bit different.  The one on the left seems to take after his poodle dad while the one on the right has more of a golden retriever shaped face.

Both are sweet as pie! 

As is this big boy.  Well, I call him the big boy, he is the largest of the litter, but he is just a little baby, not really big at all.

Isn’t he a handsome fella?

This little dumpling is growing into his looks.  He has lovely coloring, but wasn’t as photogenic as the other bros ( please don’t ever tell him I said that).  As he grows and fills out, he is becoming a gorgeous guy.

See what I mean?

These four boys are still available.  Please contact me for details if you’d like a sweetheart of a good looking guy to be a part of your family.  

 

the doodle babies are growing fast!

These guys are progressing by the minute.

In a matter of hours, we had the first wrestling match, playful growl, and tail wag.

You would think that such momentous milestones would take a while to happen.

But nope, they happen lightening fast.

Sugar kept putting stuffed toys in the puppy pond, and I kept taking them out because they could be a smothering hazard for tiny babies.

One morning, I’m taking toys away, and the very next, they are playing with one and big enough to handle it.

Eye contact is improving throughout the day too.

At this point, about half of them turn to look when they hear my voice.

I’ll betcha a dollar that by tomorrow morning, they will all be running to me to be picked up.  Or at least waddling, drunkenly to me.

They still sleep most of the time.

After playing, they were almost too tired for a quick photo session.

They mostly wanted to snuggle up and sleep through pictures.  Or try to nurse the fuzzy throw they were on.

Sweet, sleepy babies!

Growing that fast is hard work!

An anniversary

Today is the one year anniversary of Ryan’s death.  It feels both like ages ago and just yesterday.   He loved puppies as much as I did, and having this new litter to hold is helping me get through this week.   When I cuddle one, I think about my boy’s hugs and how much fun we had playing with and laughing at the antics of cute little puppies.

Friends have been very helpful with the anniversary too.  Last night, a group brought over dinner and wine, and we all did some puppy hugging together.

The Sugarbabies were happy with all of the attention.

Thank you to my buddies for being there for me, and to Sugar for giving me all of these furry bundles of love when I really needed them.

Holding a soft, warm puppy is good for the soul.

 

 

Two Weeks Old

The pups have grown too big for their whelping box and have moved into the wading pool as their new nest.  We put a fence around it to convince Sugar that I’d rather not be woken up at 5am.  I guess she thinks that if she is up, I should be too.  Maybe she just wants some company who appreciates watching the sweet babies as much as she does.

Albie also loves watching the babies.  He has been completely fascinated by every litter, and spends a lot of time up on the back of the recliner with a bird’s eye view into their nest.

But as soon as the little guys get playful and want to wrestle him, he keeps his distance and stays up on the back of the chair so they can’t reach him.  

Today is their 2nd week birthday, and all eyes are open.

I love their befuddled looks when they are trying to figure out just what is going on and who is holding them.

They have also had some experiments in trying to bark.

I just heard one a few minutes ago that was definitely a real, live  bark- not a squeak.

There is a lot of squeaking, the sound effects are pretty dang cute.

Tomorrow, they get their first worming.  And I’m going to trim up their sharp nails too.  Sugar should appreciate that.

If I can, I’ll make a video of the nail cutting.  I try to post videos regularly on Instagram at Cottage Doodles.

Check out the videos if you want to hear just how cute the little squeaks are.

Puppy puzzles, or origami?

Ta-dah!  A puppy heart!

And a puppy Oreo?

We got carried away.

Beth, Karla, and I started out with line ups, trying to pet sleepy puppies into oblivion so they could be placed in a row and not wriggle around waking each other up and messing with our design. 

First was just the girls.

Then the boys.

And then, ALL of the babies were put in a row.  That is an accomplishment.

While this is an entertaining thing to do, it is also very good conditioning for the babies.  They need to be handled, and made to feel comfortable by people other than just me.  And by doing this, they are learning to be trusting enough to be and cozy and feel safe with humans.


I was pretty pleased with the heart, too. 

Afterwards, we tucked them back into their nest and left them to snuggle up on their own.

Karla looked over and noticed they had formed a heart all by themselves!

I said that they are very smart dogs and learned tricks quickly.  Plus, they had excellent trainers.  

 

 

The Sugarbabies’ One Week Birthday

At this point, the babies are getting snuggly.  As you can see from this photo of a parti boy curled up asleep in my friend’s lap.

Their little tummies are getting rounder and their fur is silky.  They are still needy, without open eyes or ears and unable to regulate their own temps, but they are now getting to a point where they seem to know that being held by a human is kinda nice.

And it is hard to resist holding them all the time!  

They are like magnets, pulling me over to the nest to scoop them up and love on them.

They are also big enough to start sharing that love, so I have friends coming by to visit and give them attention.

I’m also doing face time calls and videos for perspective families now that the pups are starting to look more like dogs than mice.  They are filling out beautifully and I am proud to show them off.

For now, I only have adults and teenagers having puppy play dates.  I’ll wait for them to be older before I introduce them to young kids.

We aren’t letting the older dogs around them yet either.  They’ll be socialized with dogs, people of different ages, and even the chickens as the time is right.

Right now, I’m appreciating the sweet, quiet cuddles of this stage of their  life.

It goes by so quickly.

The Sugarbabies at 4 Days Old

The babies are doing great, gaining daily, nursing well.

So far, this has been the easiest litter I have ever cared for.

Typically, there is one rough birth where my heart leaps in my throat and the puppy needs help getting it’s first breath.  But each one of these guys was born with fully pink tones, very vocal and in motion.

Not a single hitch.

None need supplemental feedings, all are getting cute, little round tummies and growing nicely.

But best of all, Sugar is so gentle with them, that there are no cries during the night from a puppy trapped under her that causes me to run to check on them.  Shuggie carefully wraps herself around them and always seems to have the babies neatly lined up and happily nursing or napping.

I’ve just had the fun parts of being with a newborn litter.  I cuddle, pet, and then weigh them, sit by the box and talk to them and stroke them as they eat.  

And of course, I get to pose them for sweet photos.

It has been a joy.

Holding these warm, soft bodies against my face and kissing their tiny heads got me through my first Mother’s Day without my son.

It wasn’t an easy day for me, but I had my dogs to hold, the flowers Ryan planted for a past Mother’s Day fully in bloom, and my husband to pamper me.

The first anniversary of Ry’s death is approaching and I know that these furry sweethearts will be there for me to pour love into and help heal my heart.

I am blessed to have them in my life when I need them most.  And I look forward to raising them to be loving pets that will be there for their new families when they are needed for comfort or cheer.

 

The Sugar Babies weigh in

What a colorful bunch of babies!

On my birthday, Sugar had nine pups!

Well, she started on the evening of my birthday, half were born after midnight.  I was up til almost four am.

And I have to admit, that at 63, not getting enough sleep seriously makes me feel old.  Oh well, I’ll sleep when the babies are gone, the time will fly by.

No matter how old and tired I am, it is never a chore to stay up all night waiting for babies to come.  

Seeing what color comes next is as exciting as opening presents.

Shuggie had two apricot parti, two black and white parti, two black abstract, and two cream, so I was very excited to see if another pair of colors would arrive.

She stopped birthing for almost forty minutes after those eight, but I knew she wasn’t done yet.

The anticipation was very suspenseful.  My body was tired, but I was not sleepy.  Then she had one more cream colored boy, and I was sure she was finished.  There wasn’t going to be another pair of colors.  

Her body language changed, and she just looked finished.  And she was.  Sugar is one of the best dog moms I have ever had, so I doubt if I will be lacking too much sleep.  She curls herself carefully around the pups, nestles them near her and tucks them in.  When she climbs in and out of the nest, it is gingerly.  

It’s funny how different dogs can be as moms.  Honey was all business.  She treated motherhood as a job that she was going to be the best at,  but wasn’t exactly gentle and was known to step on or lay on the little guys.  Her pups had me up and down all night for weeks, yelling for me to save them from being squished, or cold. 

 Sugar not only takes good care of her babies, she nurtures and snuggles them.  And when they are older, she will welcome Honey to come in and help out,  there will be lots of work to do and Honey is the dog for the job.  

This will be our only litter, Honey’s breeding didn’t  take.  I am kind of relieved, one litter at a time is plenty.  Nine pups will be enough to keep us all busy!

Happy birthday to me- and to the new puppies!

I have had a lovely birthday today and what could ever be a better present than this?  Sugar had a sweet little boy pup with a heart shaped spot on his fuzzy bottom. 

I collect found hearts and love seeing them randomly in nature  I was thrilled to “spot”this one.

Thank you for this birthday gift, Shuggie!  Keep them coming, I want a whole basket full of these cuties.