What a big litter Lolly has had – why so many puppies and how does she manage?
Lollipop is a large medium girl who comes from a very healthy and fertile genetic line. Her mother (Amalie Oreo), grand mother (Amalie Snickers) and great grandmother (Tallai Butterscotch) have all had large litters. We know she will have a lot of puppies and so we do a few things to make sure that everything goes well. This includes making sure she is well nourished before she even becomes pregnant, is fit and well before mating, has great vet care before, during and after whelping and has a well balanced and nutritional diet when she is lactating. We work with Queensland Veterinary Specialists and their reproductive team headed by Dr Phil Thomas. They support us as a breeder and support Lolly, in all aspects of reproduction.
We prepare ourselves to ensure we can dedicate time and effort to provide every opportunity for each puppy to thrive. We monitor the pups closely in the early weeks to see that they are gaining weight, digesting food well, remaining warm and in good physical condition. We begin facilitating their social development through a daily gentle movement routine (Early Neurological Stimulation) and management of the whelping box layout. The whelping box is the name given for your puppies first new home environment once he or she is born.
With Lolly’s first litter of 11, we had another mum with puppies at the same time. Cher was able to help Lolly with feeding and we rotated one of her pups in with Cher’s litter till they were weaned. This enabled both mums to have a reasonable number of pups to care for. Cher had 8 pups (and 8 nipples) of her own so the additional pup was no trouble for her as an experienced mum. Lolly managed her 10 remaining pups, and each had a nipple to feed from meaning no-one got pushed out from the milk-bar.
Puppies will soon meet their families and everyone is very excited to know who their puppy will be. We have 3 boys wearing blue spotty, yellow spotty and aqua / pale blue collars.
At 4 weeks old, this dozen are starting to venture outside and explore different sights, sounds and sensations. Here they are all fluffed up after their bath.
Be in touch if you are looking for a beautiful Labradoodle companion – we have several places still available.
