Saturday, December 15, 2012

"The Princess and the Piece of Kibble"

Satori is expecting and is on "bedrest", which means that, just like with human mamas, she has to just lie around peacefully in her whelping box to give her litter the best chance of reaching full-term.   (This usually means that I have to just lie around in her whelping box too, to keep her company!) Every 3-5 hours (Yes, all day and all night long!) we run a monitoring session from an amazing electronic monitor that sends data via the phoneline to a canine whelping consulting service in Colorado, so that we have a better idea of what is going on in there!
http://www.whelpwise.com/testing/whelp-wise-service.html

Miss Satori is a highly intelligent--and fairly calculating-- canine "L.A.P." (or "Labradoodle Australian Princess").  We have conducted the Princess-Test and she has passed with flying colors!  Just like a true Princess, Satori will not accept kibble...or even roast chicken..except fed directly from our fingers in appropriately bite-sized morsels:

Acceptable

"I Don't Think So..."
Not Acceptable
Satori prefers NOT to be by herself too much, so when we are not looking after the other babies, we are spending a lot of time together... (note: the coffee is mine) 

5 days and counting with no progress
Meanwhile, here at Golden Gate Central HQ, while the pups and mama's needs (and whims!) are being catered to, the human contingent are demonstrating god-like forbearance and patience.  I could take a photo of the piles of laundry choking up the laundry room, the dishes on the kitchen counter, or possibly just the in-box of unopened emails on my Gmail account, but somehow this picture is emblematic of the situation:  
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Friday, December 7, 2012

The Nutcracker Sweeties: Lessons To Live By...

"Day Two" saw a consolidation of the lessons the puppies learned on "Day One"...

Lesson 1:  Keep Track of Mom at All Costs
Even though their eyes are not yet open, or their ears unsealed, the babies seek out their Mama all over their box, calling with 
loud and plaintive squeaking



Lesson 2: Sleeping is Good
At least 20 hours a day is a good start












                                           
Lesson 3:  It's Not Always Better to Be At the Top of the Pack Order 
It's much warmer at the bottom!

















Lesson 4: Siblings Are Not a Source of Nourishment
 
(They do have other uses however)










                                                                                              Lesson 5: Did We Mention The Importance of Sleep?
Might as well make good use of our time while Mama is "out"
















Lesson 6:  Do Not Get Separated From the Pack
Remaining in physical contact with the "Puppy Pile" at all times is a prudent strategy

Lesson 7:  Furry Surfaces Often Contain Milk

"It must be in here somewhere" 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Nutcracker Sweets

The Lovely Whitney delivered a beautifully robust litter of 3 girls and 2 boys. Mama cleverly took her time with the whelping, birthing her first big girl at 5:20 AM, with the rest of the puppies appearing regularly over the next four hours.  Whitney was refreshed with the traditional bowl of vanilla ice cream, which provides extra glucose and calcium for both Mama and babies. The pups "Clara", "Sugarplum", "Prince", "Snowflake", and "?", all set to nursing with enthusiasm!

This little girl, only minutes old, is soaking up the heat from the warming tray

We are glad to see the puppies "pink up" once they start breathing on their own

"Snowflake" enjoyed the benefits of being an "only child" for over an hour!

But a sister "Clara", then a brother "Prince" came along in rapid succession

Enjoying his first meal of colostrum

Whitney would like to know who finished off the last of the Trader Joe's French Vanilla that had her name on it?  (Had to make do with Dreyers "plain" Vanilla...!)


A wonderfully strong litter is a delight to watch as they drag themselves around the box searching for  Mama  (and a cozy spot to curl up and snooze)


Plenty of room for all at the first Breakfast!



Whitney admires her handiwork...and takes excellent care of them too.


It's Puppy Time!

Two-thirty AM and Whitney has let me know that she thinks the time is drawing near...


They place so much trust in us to help them through the birthing!
Satori looks like she is laughing as this means she does not go to the scheduled grooming appointment this morning!
And Bibi is still waiting "Expectantly"!
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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Doodles In Disguise! (Tricks AND Treats!)

The annual "Goblin Walk" on San Carlos's Laurel Street is always an opportunity for the local Labradoodles to strut their stuff on the town and live out their alter-egos. While some of them outright enjoy the event, everyone was exceptionally well-mannered with the hordes of pint-size princesses, fairies, and Ninjas!(Thanks to Chris and Manuela for photos/caption ideas!)

Lola (who is invariably good-natured anyway) thoroughly enjoys this annual event!
The "competitive element" in fancy dress events results in inevitable scrutinizing of  the other participants' costumes.
Fairy Princesses like Satori are generally well-regarded wherever they show up.
Sir Charlie has lofty and noble ideals on this mind, after slaying his dragon. ("That Grail must be around here somewhere!")
The ever-popular Teddy makes an appearance (with his boy Max)
Teddy keeps a sharp eye on the events to make sure everyone is playing fair 
Sharing beauty secrets
Admiring Lola's long eyelashes 
Cosmo finds a baby bumblebee.  "Can I keep it? Pleeeeease....?"
The gallant Sir Charlie protects a small chick from the dragon. 
Siblings Tanuki and Teddy ask SuperDog for autographs

The lovely Emily and Friends
Lots to celebrate the SF Bay Area!  Congrats GIANTS!
Princess Bibi and the Lady Lizzy patiently endure the scores of papparazzi
The Golden Gate Labradoodles run into some Superfriends!
Cosmo wishes he had worn his bat wings instead!
Kotah is asking the right person for flying lessons
(Looks like Kotah is trying to gain some altitude!)
"Where's the Pixie Dust?"

Cosmo is skeptical

Miss Cocoapuff (aka Golden Gate The Farmer's Daughter) and her buddy proudly sport their SF Giants Halloween colors. 


Labradoodles are highly intelligent...and opportunistic. Cocoapuff takes advantage of a chance to get her Christmas wishes in early!

The court jester

Spooky Tanuki!

Sir Charlie rescuing a damsel in distress.
Lola is gracious and affable to the young nobles
Happy Halloween to All!
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