Ginny Nightingale's Blog (125)

Diagnosis for Lyric's tiny puppy

Well, unfortunately, it is not good news. I brought my little "squirt" to my vet today and we found a sizeable cleft palate. But she is still very active and healthy-looking despite a lack of weight gain, so we decided to look into some solutions rather than just euthanizing her. One of the vet techs there raises kittens and has saved several squirrels using tube feeding and was very anxious to take "Squirt" on for a few days to see if she could get her weight up. (For free! I have such nice…

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Added by Ginny Nightingale on January 3, 2011 at 4:02pm — 37 Comments

Lyric is a mommy!!

Sorry to keep you all in suspense but I have had no time to write! Lyric went through a long night of pacing and panting, but at 4:30 am, things got more serious. By 6:15, she was ready to give birth and hoped right into the whelping box--she made two grunts and out popped puppy #1 --a gorgeous all black male. 15 minutes later, we had a beautiful FAT apricot female followed by…

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Added by Ginny Nightingale on January 1, 2011 at 1:14pm — 40 Comments

New Year's puppies?

Lyric has started her long process towards becoming a mommy. She won't eat today and her temp has dropped a bit over 1 degree. She is resting comfortably and panting heavily--no signs of big contractions yet. We had her in her whelping box in a room that is warmed by a space heater to 75 degrees, but she hated the heat, so I let her go into a cool corner again for now. She can stay cool until the pups start coming, then it's into the box!

This is certainly a unique way to spend New…

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Added by Ginny Nightingale on December 31, 2010 at 5:38pm — 16 Comments

And Lyric's puppy count is.....

5!!! We saw five nice little skulls and spines all lined up and ready to go in Lyric's Xray today--so exciting! Can't wait to meet them--any day now!

Added by Ginny Nightingale on December 28, 2010 at 4:02pm — 10 Comments

Lyric's final week!

Oh, boy--here we go! Lyric is getting all swollen now and has the look of impending motherhood. Christmas was fine until someone opened a present with some sort of stuffed animal in the box...then she was all over it and it had to be hidden some place. She is very tired today after all the activity and is sleeping most of the day...the week is starting off with a BLIZZARD so hopefully, she has a few more days to go before the puppies arrive. I doubt anything will happen before next weekend…

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Added by Ginny Nightingale on December 26, 2010 at 2:22pm — 9 Comments

Lyric's pregnancy--two weeks to go!

Wow--where did the time go? I realized today that the reason I have been a bit "ho-hum" about Christmas is that I am way more excited about the puppies! I have all my decorations up and I am ready for the adult kids to descend, but right after they leave, I am getting the house back in order before I am too busy to clean it all up! So, I believe the word is "Anticipation"--just like the old Carly Simon song. (Who is old enough to remember it?)

Lyric, on the other hand, is all mellowed…

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Added by Ginny Nightingale on December 18, 2010 at 7:30am — 16 Comments

Lyric at 7 weeks--photos!

I weighed Lyric at the vet today and she has hit 50 1/2 lbs. Normally she is 46 lbs, so we are right on track. She is hungry all the time now--yikes! Here are some pictures of her new belly. Wish I had X-ray vision!…

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Added by Ginny Nightingale on December 13, 2010 at 4:18pm — 12 Comments

Lyric's pregnancy--the last three weeks!

Wow--does time fly! I can't believe the puppies will be here in three weeks! Lyric's appetite has returned and she is eating well now. When she lies down or sits back on the couch, she has quite the little belly on her! It's all very exciting.

We will be picking up the whelping box from our breeder in just a few weeks (she still has puppies that are using it.) We have a house that was built in 1790 and it has a "birthing room"--a small room next to the kitchen (now our living room)…

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Added by Ginny Nightingale on December 11, 2010 at 9:40pm — 10 Comments

Ultrasound today!!!

Lyric had an ultrasound today and........we found four puppies right away! They were all close together so there could easily be more "in the wings"--the vet does not do ultrasounds of pregnant dogs too often, so she really didn't look around too much. She just wanted to confirm that the dog was pregnant, since she has been so off kilter for these last few weeks. Now we know that all is normal--she is just having a rough pregnancy.

Today, she grew tired of the chicken we have been making…

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Added by Ginny Nightingale on November 29, 2010 at 6:10pm — 5 Comments

Week five of Lyric's pregnancy begins

Hi all--not much new to report--except that Lyric has become a very fussy eater! She can't really deal with any of the kibble I have on hand (I happen to have a few flavors in the house at the moment), so she is getting boiled chicken with broth. She eats that, but slowly. She is more tired and so much more laid back than usual. They say that you should see no difference in the energy level or behavior of the dog in the fist few weeks, but she has really changed dramatically. She has a few… Continue

Added by Ginny Nightingale on November 26, 2010 at 3:43pm — 3 Comments

Lyric's pregnancy?! continued...

Nov 18th--I did my homework! I went to see Bel deliver her litter of four pups last night. But, the assignment was too easy! My breeder…

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Added by Ginny Nightingale on November 19, 2010 at 6:23pm — 6 Comments

Lyric's pregnancy?!

I am going to go out on a limb here and assume that my 2 1/2 year old ALD Lyric is pregnant. She was bred two weeks ago and so far all signs point towards a successful breeding. However, we won't know until the middle of December when we do an ultrasound. I just thought it would be fun to keep a record of her pregnancy and the whelping, especially for people who have never bred a dog and are curious about it. I have never done this before either, so I am learning as I go along also. Luckily, I… Continue

Added by Ginny Nightingale on November 17, 2010 at 6:30pm — 9 Comments

Mattie's first therapy dog job!

After two years of delay, I finally got Mattie off to her first therapy dog job today. We assisted a student teacher of occupational therapy with a class of 5 year olds at a private school. The kids were learning about how to approach a dog so they don't get bitten. They tried out all the techniques on Mattie--she was very good and loved to be with the children. They were petting her and letting her give them kisses. I was glad she was able to stay calm. One of the reasons I held off from… Continue

Added by Ginny Nightingale on October 15, 2010 at 1:24pm — 8 Comments

Two doodles have an interesting adventure in Vermont--with two Poodles!

Hi all! Mattie and Lyric are all tired out tonight after an overnight visit with a friend that has two poodles. Our friend lives in Vermont in a beautiful home up in the mountains. We have never taken the dogs to another person's house that has dogs--so I was a bit nervous. I also wasn't sure how I would let my dogs just run around without a leash or a fence. We have not let them run free and I had a lot of concern about that. As we pulled up to the house, I was relieved to see that our friend… Continue

Added by Ginny Nightingale on September 13, 2010 at 6:30pm — 14 Comments

Can doods catch a sparrow??

I had a "what the???" moment this morning. I was busy in the house while the dogs played and went in and out of the house (ahh, summer) when I spotted something weird on the living room floor. It was a very dead sparrow. I have no idea how it got there--Neither dog seemed too interested in it and one of my doodles usually eats anything she catches. (Luckily, she doesn't catch much because eating an animal does not really agree with her digestive system...) The other doodle, Lyric, is… Continue

Added by Ginny Nightingale on July 20, 2010 at 5:59pm — 11 Comments

A goldendoodle sighting on vacation

Got away for a few days (without the doods) to a campsite in the Adirondacks--While kayaking, I passed a family in a canoe with a young goldendoodle. We had a nice chat about the website and I told the owner to check it out. (I do that every time I meet a new doodle owner-I wonder if anyone does it?) Anyway, her cute little doodle had just gone swimming and she noticed how matted he was underneath the surface fluff. I was so glad I was a DK member and had learned about puppy coats and the like… Continue

Added by Ginny Nightingale on July 16, 2010 at 9:02pm — 2 Comments

So many doodles at the parade!

Every fourth or July, we participate in a small parade in a tiny town nearby. Anyone who wants to march or have a "float' (usually a wagon that is decorated with flags) can march down the road and be a part of it all. It is really fun and a great place to have some social time with your dog. There are always great dogs there. Today, my two doodles and I were marching along and from the sidelines, people with doodles on leashes were asking me if my two dogs were doodles! This happened 5 or 6… Continue

Added by Ginny Nightingale on July 4, 2010 at 8:49pm — 8 Comments

doodle romp Saturday--with a shaved doodle!

I can't wait to meet the other DK members and their doods at the doodle romp in Canton, Connecticut on Saturday! If you want to get in on it, check out the posts on the New England Doodles group page.

I will be a bit embarrassed to bring my Lyric--she has a nice big, fluffy head and a very skinny shaved body. I think my groomer sees one mat and shaves the whole dog. She had some mats here and there, but I didn't expect all her hair to be very short! Oh, well, it will grow back! I did…

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Added by Ginny Nightingale on April 8, 2010 at 6:30pm — 11 Comments

Our playdate with CC

The "caring canine" goldendoodle from my elementary school (she belongs to the school counselor and spends her day at school) came to my house today to play with my doods--As I expected they were INSTANT FRIENDS!! I just realized that I didn't take any pics! I will next time! Lyric and CC are so much alike--they played the most with Mattie standing by trying to get into the act. She is smaller, so they kind of ignored her! Both Lyric and CC like to "own" the toys, but they didn't fight about… Continue

Added by Ginny Nightingale on January 25, 2010 at 4:05pm — 3 Comments

Lyric's first heat

Well, it finally happened on Lyric's 1 1/2 birthday! She is fully in heat now after a very small one at around one year of age. Her breeder and I decided to wait until she is 2 years old to breed her. She is still so immature--very puppy-ish. I don't want to rush her into anything. Since she is an ALD, I think the papa will be as well. Can't wait until the next heat--that should be the one for breeding! I will be retired by then, so I will have lots of time at home to be with her.

My… Continue

Added by Ginny Nightingale on January 23, 2010 at 4:13pm — 2 Comments