Goldendoodle

[dreadnut]

Yeah, but by now you'd think I would verify the meaning of a word before making a judgment call. Reminds me of a John Prine song: "I Hate It When That Happens To Me."

 

[davismanLV]

No problem. Wasn't trying to correct as much as taking an opportunity to vent. I think we all are finding interesting ways to relieve stress.

frono, since you're a CAT person and you need to relieve stress, think like a cat. Maybe try pushing items off a table and see if that helps......

 

[dreadnut]

OK, here is the kitty I rescued from the woods and our big male Goldendoodle, Timber. He's such a wuss.

 

[F312]

I thought I was through with cats until a whole litter showed up from under the shed with the Mama we were feeding around a week. There was a couple bob cats hanging around at the time I found homes for two. Everyday or so one would come up misusing. we kept the last two. a Tuxedo cat and a gray on top and white on the bottom. (the runt) It never got big. Around three here they are six now. Very gentle cats, I never fight with them. Slipper & Toot.
Ralph

 

[dreadnut]

Cool cats!

 

[Opsimath]

35 puppies! As Jed Clampett would say, "Wooooo doggies!"

They are adorable by the way. Counting puppies? Sounds like trying to count cows - they just won't be still!

 

[dreadnut]

There's nothing quite as cute as a newborn Goldendoodle puppy!

Except for maybe 13 newborn Goldendoodle puppies!

 

[F312]

You must have to tag them, no?

Ralph

 

[dreadnut]

You know, Raplh, I bought a whole bunch of various colored puppy collars online and their names became synonymous with their collar color.

They all went to good families; several of them are now companion dogs for special needs folks, they are the perfect dog for that job. Kids with Asperger's, a man that had a stroke, etc.

By the third litter, I didn't even have to advertise the puppies - we kept one and the other 12 were snatched up by local contacts and people with puppies from an earlier litter.

Pixie is the one we kept. She was the smallest of the 35 puppies, 5 oz, at birth! We gave her some preferential nursing time with Koko, and we supplemented by bottle feeding some of the other puppies. There were 13 puppies, and Koko only has 12 teats. She did fine twice with 11 puppies, but 13 was just an overload for her.

We are probably going to have puppies one more time, this time with Pixie, but so far she has rejected all the male suitors we presented her to. We are trying to pursue artificial insemination.

Pixie was an insane puppy - she was the smallest, but the first one to figure out how to break out of the kennel. Koko didn't really want to nurse any more after about 4 weeks, but Pixie would climb the fencing and get out so she could nurse.

Pixie goes about 45 lb. now, and she is the sweetest, calmest dog you could ever want, just like her Mama. Pixie is the one in front, Mama (Koko-puff) is the apricot colored one, the big boy in the back is Timber.

 

[Mark WW]

They are cool dogs. Our neighbor has one and he is on the Wild Side! They go for a pretty penny here and they aren't purebreds. Are they any good as watchdogs?

 

[dreadnut]

Yeah, they are great watchdogs! When anyone comes to the door they go ballistic.

In my estimation, most criminals are cowards and would never attempt to get past my three big dogs.

 

[Mark WW]

I wondered about their protective instincts cause most goldens will unlock the door for a burglar, show them where the good stuff is, give them a lick and if asked take off with the culprit for a car ride. Poodles on the other hand can get quite protective.

I googled them. Said they sell for between $1,200 - $3,000 and not even a registered breed. Seems crazy but when I looked up getting an American Water Spaniel and maybe another Weimaraner the AWS started at $1,200 as did the Weims. Having a litter is a crazy expensive proposition and if the sire and dam have been OFA certified and genetic testing done then it makes sense. It all costs monies. We rescued our last two dogs. The Weim only lived another 3 years due to her heart condition but the Chessie hung in there for quite a while.

 

[GAD]

Good breeders don't do it for the money. Most lose money.

Talk with a breeder who’s had to put an adorable Newf puppy to sleep because of irreversible health issues after a $2000 vet bill and you start to despise people who breed for profit.

 

[dreadnut]

You're right about the money, GAD. We sold most of our puppies, but there was very little profit involved. Between prenatal care, Vet bills, 1st 2 checkups and inoculations, puppy food, etc., it was an expensive proposition. Plus we discounted the price for some special needs families. Then the sheer amount of work involved must be counted against profit as well. We also drove to several states to deliver the pups to their new families, or met them halfway, to avoid "shipping" the pups.

I spent a lot of time interacting with all of our puppies, and had them outdoors a lot. Their new families loved the fact that they were pretty much already house trained when they got them. We kept the puppies until they were 8-9 weeks old minimum. The last week or two, they had some great instructional time with their Mama. The miss out on these valuable experiences when the breeders let them go at 6 weeks, or some even at 5 weeks.

I can't understand why anyone would want to operate a puppy mill. There are much easier and more humane ways to make a buck. Quite frankly, they ought to be shut down. My daughter and her husband rescue Boston Terriers, some from puppy mills, and what a sad life they have lived.

 

[GAD]

You're right about the money, GAD. We sold most of our puppies, but there was very little profit involved. Between prenatal care, Vet bills, 1st 2 checkups and inoculations, puppy food, etc., it was an expensive proposition. Plus we discounted the price for some special needs families. Then the sheer amount of work involved must be counted against profit as well. We also drove to several states to deliver the pups to their new families, or met them halfway, to avoid "shipping" the pups.

I spent a lot of time interacting with all of our puppies, and had them outdoors a lot. Their new families loved the fact that they were pretty much already house trained when they got them. We kept the puppies until they were 8-9 weeks old minimum. The last week or two, they had some great instructional time with their Mama. The miss out on these valuable experiences when the breeders let them go at 6 weeks, or some even at 5 weeks.

I can't understand why anyone would want to operate a puppy mill. There are much easier and more humane ways to make a buck. Quite frankly, they ought to be shut down. My daughter and her husband rescue Boston Terriers, some from puppy mills, and what a sad life they have lived.

Glad to hear it. I've seen some breeders now keeping them until 10 weeks. We are firmly convinced that Sully's behavioral issues are due to being separated from his mother too soon because he's got all the signs. He's also got bad hips so we're convinced he was a mill dog. We can handle a 130 pound ill-behaved dog who was never taught that playing rough and biting is bad. His previous elderly owners must have feared for their lives and he was probably only 80 pounds when we got him. As he gets older we see more of the Newfie temperament shine through.

 

[dreadnut]

Hey GAD, do your dogs sleep on your bed with you? I must admit, ours do. They are so spoiled.

 

[GAD]

Hey GAD, do your dogs sleep on your bed with you? I must admit, ours do. They are so spoiled.

Absolutely not. First of all my wife is enough of a bed hog, second we have a 4-poster and the top is like three feet up, and lastly we do everything we can to make them understand that we’re the alphas. It mostly works. Mostly.

 

[Mark WW]

You're right about the money, GAD. We sold most of our puppies, but there was very little profit involved. Between prenatal care, Vet bills, 1st 2 checkups and inoculations, puppy food, etc., it was an expensive proposition. Plus we discounted the price for some special needs families. Then the sheer amount of work involved must be counted against profit as well. We also drove to several states to deliver the pups to their new families, or met them halfway, to avoid "shipping" the pups.

I spent a lot of time interacting with all of our puppies, and had them outdoors a lot. Their new families loved the fact that they were pretty much already house trained when they got them. We kept the puppies until they were 8-9 weeks old minimum. The last week or two, they had some great instructional time with their Mama. The miss out on these valuable experiences when the breeders let them go at 6 weeks, or some even at 5 weeks.

I can't understand why anyone would want to operate a puppy mill. There are much easier and more humane ways to make a buck. Quite frankly, they ought to be shut down. My daughter and her husband rescue Boston Terriers, some from puppy mills, and what a sad life they have lived.

Yup the costs of properly doing a litter of pups is crazy. Unfortunately a lot of not so ethical backyard (not all fall into this category) breeders not even puppy mills see certain breeds as a way to generate some shekels and are indiscriminate in their breeding's. This can result in some possibly avoided genetic diseases and more than often hip issues with larger breeds. Some folks like you dreadnut produce a litter based on your love for that particular breed.

 

[dreadnut]

Thanks, WW. Yeah, we had such good luck with the first litter we decided to have two more. They all turned out to be healthy, non-shedding, and with great personalities.

We are going to try to have one more litter, with our youngest puppy, Pixie. She would not hook up with
all the suitors we presented her with, so we're gonna do artificial insemination for this last try. They will be medium size; both Pixie and the stud are 45 lb. We'll probably have late Spring - early Summer puppies, the best time for raising them up here in Michigan.