Puppies

The puppies are already moving about quite well and know immediately where Mama Ripple and the milk bar is located.  Young puppies have heat sensors on the sides of their noses and they use those to locate one another and their Mama Labradoodle.  The puppies sleep in a group and often pile up on one another.  They do this to keep warm as they are too young to regulate their own internal body temperature and it also helps their skeletal development.  Lying on a flat surface is not good for a puppy’s development, thus the reason they naturally gravitate toward one another and congregate in a pile to sleep.  Puppy pile!

Some breeders make the mistake of having their maternity ward so warm that the puppies then sleep separate from one another.  The excess heat makes the Mama dog very uncomfortable and the puppies’ bodies are at risk of developing in a more flattened way rather than as they should.

The Haute Couture litter is a gorgeous group of chocolate sable girls and one handsome caramel coloured boy.  The girls’ colours will all change dramatically each week.  This is part of the beauty and magic of sable and the reason I am so enamoured of it.  I am so excited to see how these little labradoodle puppies develop their sable tones.

Ripple is settling in well to her role as a Mama although she is a bit on the fence about eating enough for herself and her little family.  We have a large selection of different items for her to choose from and hope she soon regains her more regular appetite.  Liver, roast beef, duck, rotisserie chicken and lots of treats are currently on her list of approved meal options.  Dog food of any type is not acceptable at this point in time.

We have started the various processes we do with the puppies to stimulate their development both physically and mentally.  They have all been scented regularly throughout the day with both of us as well.  It is a lovely, peaceful litter of contented, plump little puppies.