And then there was one...

Seven and a half weeks brings new beginnings for our lovely litter - time to fly the nest and move to their new families.

Here are some photos from the litter's last day together.

We are so pleased with the new owners, I work closely with new owners to make sure they can provide the best for our labs. Included is a photo of Baxter's and Dylan's new mums. I have no doubt the two boys will bring much joy and energy to the family.

We are pleased for puppy Tess as she is integrated into her wonderful young energetic family and are enjoying having little Ruby for a few weeks while her new parents prepare for her welcome.

Ruby is left with her Mum, Grandma and Great Grandma at the moment, being spoilt and learning valuable life lessons from her elders.

Full of fun and energy

The above pictures show the Great-Grandma and Grandma just about tolerating the attention of the puppies as the youngsters want to play with them.  The senior citizens  put up with the tail pulling and ear nibbling for a short while but then  want to try and escape out of their reach and ask us to rescue them.        

Playtime

5 weeks old and gorgeous

They are 5 weeks old now and absolutely love romping around the lawn and investigating everything they come across.  I found it very difficult to take any photographs at all as they hardly ever stand still, so after about 20 attempts I managed these 3 photos which weren't blurred !

They are at the stage where they try to run but more often than not they end up just tumbling over.
Its difficult not to trip up over them as they tend to walk between your feet and tug at your trousers.

They are having 3 meals a day now but still try and grab a drink from their Mum whenever she passes.  Once they have been fed I usually let them out of their pen into the garden to go and explore and they have so much fun - they are at such a lovely stage now .  After a while they tend to get tired and end up in a heap so then I transfer them back into their kennel where they will probably sleep until their next feed -  its a hard life.

Venturing outside

Its lovely to see them being inquisitive outside and enjoying the fresh air in-between the showers.
They have quickly learned that the sound of the dishes rattling means dinner time and all four of them are enjoying their food (which we soak beforehand to soften it).

Visiting Cuddles

For the last few weeks we've had a house full of friends and family, resulting in a pack of sociable pups. They are extremely spoilt with cuddles and love.

Kennel club names

We have just received confirmation of the official Kennel Club names   - it is very difficult to come up with new names that haven't been used by the Kennel Club before but our inspiration for the puppies names came from the fact that our daughter was working in the South Pacific at the time  the litter were born.  She was disappointed to miss the excitement of the birth but we decided it would be a lovely way of remembering her Fijian work trip.

Talatoka Spirit – Talatoka is the name of a family who “adopted’ our daughter over the Easter weekend and made her feel very athome in a traditional Fijian rural village. We hope Talatoka Spirit has thesame friendly, adventurous and loyal spirit as those in Fiji.

Bulah Beauty – Bula is an affectionate polite greeting inFijian.  She tellsus everyone in Fiji welcomes a stranger with a friendly and caring “Bula”…‘Hello’.

Vanuatu Velvet –  Vanuatu is another country in thePacific -beautiful countryside, rich in history and theyhave a spectacular womens beach volleyball team currently beating the odds toqualify for London 2012.

Suvanatu Stream – Suva is the capital ofFiji Islands, a diverse, exciting and important center for the Pacific Islands,with strong sporting ethos. 

Talatoka Spirit and Suvanatu Stream are the dogs names and Vanuatu Velvet and Bulah Beauty are the bitches names.  

email: yorkshirelabs@gmail.com

Relaxing

What better way to enjoy a Satuday - had lunch now relax with a cushion.

Starting to walk

Still very tentative and wobbly on her feet but I think she can see where she's going - if not, she can certainly smell her way around because as soon as Fern is anywhere near, they get very excited and think the milk bar is open for business again. They also had their first taste of worming liquid today - lovely.
The puppies email address for anyone wanting to make contact is: yorkshirelabs@gmail.com

Family tree and beginning to open their eyes

 At last we can see a glint of their eyes as they are just beginning to open and at the same time they are no longer "swimming" around their box on their stomachs but managing to stagger around on their feet a bit.  It wont be long before they are climbing over Fern's back and out of their box and begin to explore the world outside the box !
They have had their nails clipped for the first time as they were making Fern a bit sore as they tried to get a better grip on her in search of milk.

On the left is a family tree which starts at the top with a chocolate labrador (Meg) owned by a good friend of ours, Christine, and we got our first wonderful dog Barley from her.

Meg is the ripe old age of 14 and very wise and loyal, Willow is aged 10 and still gets very excited when she goes for a walk, followed by Fern who is 3 and the devoted new Mum.

What a difference a week makes !

4 days old

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is "Merv" the good-looking, well-behaved father and these are his 4-day old hungry offspring.

Fern enjoyed a 10 minute walk this afternoon but was anxious to get back to check that all was well her pups.

One day old

Fern decided that 4 puppies were enough for her to cope with for her first litter and we are pleased to report that they are all doing very well.  We were very surprised when she only had 4 but we are grateful that they are all healthy.  The dog that we mated her with was a chocolate labrador so again we were surprised that there were no chocolate puppies - she must have given chocolate up for Lent ! 
Fern went for a quick 2 minute break this morning and her Mum and Grandma had a sniff around her just to make sure all was well - she soon dashed back  to her new little family though.  

Birth announcement !

We are very pleased to announce the arrival of 4 black puppies (2 dogs and 2 bitches).  They were born at approximately one-hourly intervals and all look to be healthy.  I had forgotten about the little mewing noise that they all make as they try to get to the milk and skid and roll upside down as she cleans them.  Fern seems a bit bewildered about it all but is being a very good Mum.  Not sure if there are any more on the way - watch this space ...............
(My next post will be tomorrow, Thursday)

TODAY'S THE DAY

Isn't nature amazing.  Exactly 63 days since conception, she is starting labour.  It's a pity human births aren't as predictable.
If everything goes well, we should have some good news by the end of the day.  Will keep you posted.

A bit of reassurance from Mother

Enjoying the peace and quiet

Fern is like a beached whale at the moment laying stretched out in the sun wondering why she's put on so much weight over the past few weeks.  Its just as well she has no idea what's in store in a couple of days time and she should make the most of the peace and quiet.

Nothing too strenuous

Its a beautiful Spring morning here and the daffodils are at their best as we set out for a gentle walk. Fern still has plenty of energy but I didn't like to go too far so we just had a gentle stroll up the fields and she had a good sniff around to see if any foxes had been out visiting last night.  I noticed the "sticky buds" on the horse chestnut trees are just beginning to burst out as well as the cherry blossom in the lane.

10 days to go

As far as I can remember she doesn't seem to have put as much weight on as our previous dogs so going to the gym and working out regularly must have made the difference, particularly as she is now on 3 meals a day.
Her Mum had 9 puppies so bets are now being taken as to how many she will produce.  

Smile for the camera

We went for a lovely walk on Sunday onto the top land with all the dogs and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather we've been having.  The eldest two dogs enjoyed cooling off in a pond which has developed over the last few years and Fern was desperate to follow them but we decided it might not be such a good idea in her condition so had to discourage her from going in.
She seems unperturbed by her expanding girth as she continues to explore the woods and fields pursuing all the fox and rabbit smells.

Looking back

 I thought it would be interesting to have a look back and see Willow (Fern's Mum)  with her puppies.
The first photograph was taken when the puppies were about a week old and at this stage the only distintive difference between them was the very pale cream puppy.  By the time they are 6 weeks old their little individual characters are beginning to show.

Looks very promising

Today 2nd March 2012 I am almost convinced that puppies might be on the way.  Whilst out gardening with her I noticed that her undercarriage looks more weighty and I have it on good authority that she hasn't been getting extra food yet.

We had a lovely walk on the top of Otley Chevin on Sunday and whilst looking at the "Surprise View" we started talking to a lovely couple who were really taken with Fern - we are very much hoping that we are able to give them some good news in a few weeks...