Farmington Valley Golden Retrievers

Today the pups had their field trip to Animal General for Dr. Steve Feldman to weigh in on the health of the litter. Everyone got high marks with no medical issues of any kind. Everyone’s weights were good, and all the boys’ privates were intact. (Undescended testicles are not an ususual finding in golden boys). He told Barb and I we should be proud of how great everyone turned out, and despite the chaos and bad weather, we left beaming. Our son Brian had trooped home from NYC to see the pups before they left. He was very helpful to Barb getting everyone loaded up and to the vet on time. I, as usual couldn’t make it on time, and showed up at the very end of the visit. Everyone got their first set of vaccinations. A stool sample will be done early tomorrow to see if anyone needs any medication before they join their new families.

This is the last night in dogville with everyone together. Three pups leave tomorrow and then the rest over the weekend. I think Emma senses something. She spent last night sniffing her puppies before bedtime, and they returned the affection. Always a bittersweet moment, as we know how much she and us will miss them in the next few days when they are gone.

We had a prison break this morning! Early this AM, I cleaned the box and left them in there without the patio fence attached, because they had pulled up another big chunk of linoleum overnight that needed patching. Barb is off this week from school, so she was trying to sleep late. I got call on my cell from Barb a short time later, annoyed that all the pups had climbed over the doorway and were wandering all over the cellar. No harm done! Just them and me in the doghouse for the rest of the morning!

Only three more days before our puppies leave, and there seems to be an air of anticipation in the whelping box. When working or cleaning in the area now, each puppy tries to get your eye, and pays more and more attention to what you are doing rather than just playing. We hold each one several times a day, and they really enjoy those moments of one on one cuddling. Of course Barb and I are the ones getting the most out of these last moments. We may never see most of our pups again in person, and at best have to be satisfied with a photo. So we are savoring each of these last days. Today’s photos show that watching and waiting attitude that each of the pups has adopted.

Today we all had a lot of fun. Sydney our mentor from Jamestown Rhode Island brought Maureen, Donna, and Karen to assess our puppies. Each puppy had about seven tasks to react to, and then was graded on bone structure and conformation to the golden standard. Almost 100 hundred years of golden breeding was present in our kitchen, and Barb and I realized we have so much to learn yet.

All the puppies scored well with no major deficiencies of any kind. It was obvious from the way the nine pups reacted to the various tests that although they are grossly uniform in their coloring and size, there are definitely personality differences when looked at closely. We were able to contact some of our potential puppy owners with their choices, and the rest will be called tomorrow. Barb started her day early with bathing and drying all the pups by herself, as I was still away on call. Everyone here in our household is very pooped tonight and we shall all retire early.

Many thanks again to Sydney, Maureen, Donna, and Karen for sharing their time and expertise with us on this Saturday afternoon.

Our big dog family is very comfortable now with the parade of people in and out of here on almost a daily basis.

Lily and Solo have met one of two of the female pups that we have carried upstairs, but we haven’t put anyone on the kitchen floor yet. That will be where the testing is carried out this weekend, and the pups are not supposed to be familiar with the setting. Part of the test involves stressing them a little to see how they react. Riley is the only one who has ventured down into the whelping area to see what all the noise is down there. Emma doesn’t seem to mind anymore, but when we are upstairs with a pup, she doesn’t take her eyes off it. Their lives will soon change with the addition of another junior member.
Downstairs the puppies are definitely wanting more attention. They are probably getting bored with the same scenery and want some distractions. I sat in the box tonight and served as a chewing board for some very sharp teeth. This morning I was surprised to find that three or four of them had torn up the linoleum in the patio area and were busy trying to destroy more.

So when people ask, how can you give them up, they are so cute?, it gets to be very easy when you consider their needs and how much energy and love they are waiting to share with their new families. It’s almost time.

So as we all start this final chapter of Emma’s Magnificent Litter, everyone is anticipating the weekend for a slightly different reason. Our soon to be puppy owners are awaiting the word of the testing process so they will finally know who they will be bringing home. The judges (our veteran breeding friends) are interested in seeing how the breeding selection turned out, Barb and I are hopefully seeking high marks for our efforts, and of course the puppies are just wanting someone to love and make happy.

The waiting is almost over.

We just received the notice and applications for the eye, heart, and microchip clinic run by the Southern Berkshire Golden Retriever Club. The clinic is scheduled for March 11th, at the Suffield Veterinary Hospital. We will be having Emma get her updates, as well as first testing for Riley and Solo. Our soon to be named female puppy, and latest addition to our golden family here, will be getting her microchip then as well.

We are getting inquiries about our next litter of puppies already. If anyone is serious about a puppy for the fall, please fill out the puppy questionaire online at our website. The applications are non binding. We will use the date of application however to determine place on our lists.

For those not familiar with our Riley and Solo, here are the photos of each from the last time we had a weekend visit to the wilds of Vermont. Suitable mates will be determined once their conformation testing is successfully accomplished. Riley is two years old and Solo soon to be two.

The judges are coming this Saturday to grade Emma’s litter for personality traits. Will send a blog with the results. Then the puppies will be assigned per everyone’s ranking. Stay tuned for the exciting event to come.