Category: Daily Life

Four Weeks Old

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Happy Saturday! This week, the puppies passed the four week mark! They have been growing so much, and many changes are taking place.

The biggest thing to happen this week is solid food. I started the puppies on one meal a day of softened Life’s Abundance Large Breed Puppy Food. Over the next 2-3 weeks, I’ll gradually increase the amount of food they eat until they are getting all the calories and nutrition they need from solid food instead of momma’s milk. For now, Nova is still nursing them quite a bit, but her milk supply will quickly begin to drop as the puppies’ demand less from her.

We had a few warm days this week, so the puppies got to enjoy some of their meals outside in the grass. As you can see here, they are very eager! It only takes a few minutes for them to devour a yummy plate of food!

The puppies are beginning to explore and be more interactive, but they still sleep a lot. This is when socializing begins in earnest. This week the puppies got the chance to see and explore the outdoors. My children get to play with them. In the next few weeks, they will be exposed to a variety of different household sights and sounds. When they are exposed to a wide variety of things as young puppies, they tend to develop a calmer and less timid approach to new things and situations as adults. Of course, every dog is a unique individual, but I give the best foundation I can for a well-rounded and even-tempered dog.

Check back next week for updated pictures!

Winter 2023 Litter is Here!

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Hello, everyone! I am happy to introduce Nova’s litter of Golden Irish puppies. They were born on January 19. It feels like a long time since we have a litter of puppies, but it’s exciting to get back into the swing of it. There are three males and one female, and they are all doing well. Nova is a great mom and is highly attentive to her little babies.

There are deposits pending on all of the puppies, but if you are interested in a Golden Irish puppy, please get in touch with me or Zach, and we can chat about matching you with a future pup!

Now, let me catch you up on life at our place. My last blog post is dated summer of 2021! Yikes. That’s a long time. So, here’s a recap of our last 18 months.

Duchess and Mia both retired. They are still here, living the cushy life. Timber is semi-retired and will likely fully retire this year. That is our first generation of dogs that have aged out of the breeding years! The last 18 months was a transition from our first generation to our second generation of dogs.

Our breeding schedule now is working with two younger females- Nova (Irish Setter) and Oakley (Golden Retriever). Nova had a single puppy litter last summer, and we are hoping to see a first litter from Oakley later this year.

While this 18 month transition was longer than expected, it came at a good time. Soon after our 2021 litters headed home, we found out we would be welcoming a third baby into our family. During my pregnancy and the first half year after our baby was born, we didn’t have any large litters of puppies.

And that’s just about it! New baby. Retiring the older dogs, and starting the young ones. You will probably see more of us and our dogs on social media again and here on the blog now that we will be having litters more regularly again. It’s shaping up to be a fun year for puppies!

Have a blessed day!

Mia’s Puppies- Three Weeks Old

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In the past, I have very intentionally kept my blog entirely free of politics, current events, etc. However, I am finding it hard to even sit down and begin writing a blog post about my puppies during the COVID-19 situation. I am struggling to find the motivation to write about my dogs when there are so many people being negatively affected by this global crisis. My blogging seems shallow and weak.

However, here I am. I am here because I believe we will get through this. Life must go on. Life WILL go on. I am here, because maybe seeing this post will be a pleasant break from the news. I am here, because maybe you need to be encouraged to live today in FAITH and not FEAR.

So before I dive into my normal blogging, I want to encourage each of you today to have a spirit of faith and remember that even though things seem wildly out of control, God is still in control. He isn’t surprised by anything, and “though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for You are with us.” (Psalm 23:4) Also, I encourage everyone to be responsible and respectful. Please respond kindly; and think of others, not just yourselves. Protect those who are high-risk by implementing the recommended social distancing. We will get through this!

And with that, I guess I’ll begin. Like I said, I barely have the heart to blog about something as light and carefree as puppies, but I will do my best.

To start off, here is a picture of Caramel. I hope she brightens your day! Also note those beautiful yellow flowers peeking out in the background. Forsythia are my favorite kind of flower, because they are bright yellow in March or April, a sign of hope that spring is really here! I cut some today off my bushes that have started blooming beautifully this week. (You can see the rest of the litter here.)

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Things have been pretty quiet and peaceful here. Mia’s puppies are three weeks old, and they are doing very well. They are growing, and Mia has been doing a fantastic job. Mocha is the smallest puppy weighing almost 2 pounds, and the rest of the puppies are around 2.5 pounds. Hazelnut is the biggest, weighing in at almost 3 pounds.

Here’s a brief summary of a few of the things I have been doing with the Mia and the puppies.

For Mia:

During the first couple of weeks, care for the momma is exceptionally important. Mia has access to food and fresh water at all times. She also receives a daily supplement. Top-notch, dense nutrition is of the utmost importance for a pregnant and nursing mom. Without the proper nutrients, her milk supply will lack in quality and quantity. If I want healthy, growing puppies, I must be giving momma the very best.

Mia receives Life’s Abundance All Stages Food. This mix provides high-quality ingredients and robust nutrition. It’s made in small batches and tightly quality controlled and tested for safety, so I know each scoop I am giving her is fresh, full of nutrition, and free of unhealthy additives and fillers.

Mia also receives one NuVet Plus wafer each day. This supplement is to help support her immune system and provide an extra boost during a time when her body is working hard to care for puppies. Good quality ingredients is something I really care about. NuVet uses human-grade ingredients made in an FDA-registered facility. Quality ingredients provide better quality nutrition. This supplement is not available in stores and can only be purchased through veterinarians and breeders. (You can purchase it here using my order code 47834.)

For the puppies:

Mia has been giving the puppies 100% of the care they need during these first weeks. I have simply been handling them a little bit each day, and I have been providing clean bedding.

The puppies’ eyes have opened, and that means I have begun potty training. I expanded their pen a little bit to provide them with a space to potty away from where they sleep. Obviously, this will take a few weeks for them to master; but even now, they are beginning to seek out and use this area. Dogs have a natural instinct not to soil the area where they sleep. By providing them with a “potty area,” I am utilizing this natural instinct and building a good foundation for crate and house training.

In the coming weeks, the puppies will begin to be more active and alert, and they will begin exploring their small world. I’m very excited for the warmer weather, because the puppies always enjoy spending time outside. This is one of the reasons I enjoy spring, summer, and fall litters!

Come back next week for another puppy update!

In the meantime, please stay safe. Pray for each other. Remember that God’s grace is sufficient and that He is the master of all. As a closing, here is a line from a song I listened to the other day that spoke to my heart. “Bigger than all my problems. Bigger than all my fears. God is bigger than any mountain that I can or can not see. Bigger than all my questions. Bigger than anything. God is bigger than any mountain that I can or can not see.”

We can rest in God’s hands, and we can be assured of His love and care for us.

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A New Year, a Family Update, and New Furry Feet!

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Reflecting on this past year and thinking of the things to come in 2020 brings me a mix of feelings. The word that comes to mind when I think of 2019 is “change.” Some of the changes were expected and others weren’t. I realized again through the course of this year how much I tend to resist change, especially those unexpected ones. Some changes are good- like the birth of our second child. (Honestly, the transition to two kids went much better than I expected! It wasn’t without its hiccups, but it has been an awesome thing to have two little people around.) But some other significant life changes were much harder for me to accept. But by God’s grace, we are continuing on, and I am repeatedly reminding myself to rest in the fact that God is in control and to release my control over to His sovereign guidance. Change is a part of life, and this stubborn little woman has a lot of learning left to do on how to gracefully manage those curves in the road. 🙂

But in spite of some difficult changes, life is still so good! I’m praying 2020 will be a year that brings refreshment and at least a few periods of quietness and rest. (I am sure any periods of “quietness” will be short-lived in this household, but one can always hope!)

My daughter will soon be three years old. She’s full of spunk, and she loves to learn. I started doing a simple preschool program with her, and she LOVES it! She loves to read books, paint, play with trains, and dote on her baby brother.

My little boy is growing much too quickly. He’s a little chunk, and he always is ready to snuggle. His two main loves are momma and food, and he’s learning how to let his sister know when she upsets him.

As for my husband and me, we’re just getting older. 🙂

And our dogs are just as lively as they have always been!

Twenty nineteen was a busy year for us with puppies- the busiest we have ever had, in fact! This coming year looks like it will be a little slower, and I can’t say that I’ll mind the change of pace. Our tentative breeding schedule looks like this:

Golden Irish- ARRIVED! (Introduction below!)

F1b Mini Goldendoodles- March

And then we likely won’t have any litters until the fall or winter.

And that brings me to a fun introduction! Jade gave us another healthy litter of nine Golden Irish puppies!

We have six boys and three girls, and they are all doing very well. Jade is once again being a great momma. I’ll be posting individual pictures soon, as well as pictures of our new whelping/puppy room!

And that’s what our home looks like starting off 2020! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and may you experience God’s grace and blessing in this new year!

Some Puppy Cuteness for Your Weekend

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We are in the last weekend with Mia’s puppies! On Monday, they start heading off to their new homes. It’s such an exciting time to see how much the puppies have grown and see them each taken into loving new families!

Mostly for the benefit of the families who are eagerly waiting to pick up their new bundle of fluff and love, here are some pictures of the puppies from the last few days. 🙂 Enjoy!

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Micky

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Micky

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Calvin

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Calvin & Hobbes meeting Auntie Duchess

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Calvin, Charlie, & Hobbes

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So many things I love in this picture

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Calvin

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Winnie

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Micky

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Hobbes

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Winnie

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Lucy & Winnie

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Lucy

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Hobbes

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Lucy

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Minnie

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Minnie

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Calvin

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Winnie

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Winnie

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Charlie & Micky

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Charlie

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Charlie

 

My Shop is Open!

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I am BEYOND excited! Kristen’s Happy Tails shop is now open!

During the last few months, I spent hours learning about various pet company brands and the products they offer. Quality and safety are of the utmost importance to me. When I am giving food, treats, or supplements to my dogs and puppies, I want to know that what they are getting is wholesome, safe, and will keep them at their optimal health. When I get my dogs collars and toys, I want to know that I am getting something durable and good quality. I put a lot of energy and consideration into the products that I chose to have in my shop, and I am thrilled with what I have to offer to my puppies’ new families! I may not have a wide variety, but what I do have is guaranteed to be some of the absolute best pet products on the market.

This shop is a way to provide more resources to my puppies’ new families. I am often asked for recommendations on food, crates, and toys; and I wanted to do more than simply give advice. Now, my puppies’ new families can purchase full puppy packs for their new friend! I also want to be able to connect with and offer support to other local breeders, who, like me, want to get their puppies off to a great start. I want to provide excellent products and support to local dog owners who want to keep their special pups strong and healthy (and maybe spoil them a bit, too).

I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent building and preparing my shop. I’m eager to see where this adventure leads! As most of you know, I am always up for a good dog adventure, and I love to learn and connect with other dog people.

Here is a brief over view of some of the products and brands that you can find in my shop. (You can view all the products under the Shop tab or by clicking here.):

  • (Of course) Life’s Abundance- This is my favorite brand of dog food, and I know it helps to keep my dogs and puppies healthy from the inside out with it’s science-based, holistic nutrition. Also, the treats they have are AMAZING! My dogs nearly take off my whole hand when I start dishing out their yummy (and super healthy) treats! (Learn more about Life’s Abundance here.)
  • NuVet- This is a new addition to my nutrition program that I am very excited to share about! NuVet Plus is an immune system supplement which helps protect and build a puppy’s immune system, allowing the puppy to remain healthier and also give a better immune system response to vaccinations. It’s also an amazing supplement for adult dogs, helping them to remain in optimal health and protecting them from getting run-down by environmental toxins. (Learn more about NuVet here.)
  • Lupine- This is a big name in the dog industry! Lupine has been making amazing collars and leashes for over 25 years. They offer a life-time, even if chewed, guarantee on their products. The collars and leashes are durable and come in fun colors and patterns.
  • Furhaven- I have stocked some beautiful and unique memory-foam dog beds from Furhaven. These beds have an easily removed cover for convenient washing. I also have some very soft and comfy beds that are designed to fit perfectly in crates.
  • P.L.A.Y.- This is an environmentally friendly company that sells a variety of durable, stimulating, and amazingly cute dog toys! I can certainly attest to the fact that no dog toy is indestructible, but these toys can endure a good amount of tough love and play.
  • Kong- Want to talk durable? You can hardly find more durable toys than Kong toys. These fun, classic toys are great for large breeds or a particularly destructive dog. (Like my lovable hunk Jade, who destroys anything she can find. She ate one of my favorite hard cover books last week, much to my annoyance.) Currently, I have a limited variety of Kong toys, but I plan to expand my selection in 2019!

I hope that gives you a good idea of what I have in my shop. Have a happy Monday!

Taking the Good and the Bad

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As the title implies, this blog post is sharing some good news and some bad news. That’s life, though, isn’t it? Not every thing works out like we wish it would or think it should. But God is always good!

Bad news first. Jade went to the vet yesterday, and an ultrasound confirmed that she is not pregnant. We are obviously very disappointed! We were very excited about her potential litter this year, and we were looking forward to seeing the beautiful puppies she would have. However, she fooled us again.

I had initially been very optimistic. Her breeding went very well, she showed some appetite changes in the weeks after breeding, and her vulva has stayed slightly swollen. All of these things are good signs for pregnancy. However, about a week before her ultrasound, I began checking her underbelly. Another one of the first signs of pregnancy is changes in the nipples. They often become a little larger and change to a noticeably flushed pink color. I did not notice any of that for Jade, and I began to suspect she wasn’t carrying any puppies.

Since this is her second failed breeding, we are planning to do some testing before her next heat cycle. We will also try for a natural breeding next time, rather than AI (artificial insemination). That means we will not be trying for Mini Goldendoodles next time, since mini’s usually require artificial breeding. It is suspected (though not known for sure) that some dogs due to variations in individual fertility or shape/tilt of the reproductive organs may not be able to get pregnant via AI. There are a lot of unknown factors and possibilities with breeding; and for some dogs, it becomes a game of trial and error! So now we get to wait and try again later, but the third time is the charm, right?

Now on to the good news! Jade’s doctor visit was not the only one that happened this week. This morning I made a trip to the doctor myself, and I got to hear a tiny little beating heart!

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Lord willing, our family will get a new little addition in the spring! New life is such a blessing, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to bring a sweet new being into the world in a few months.

There are also some other really exciting things happening around here! We are opening up a small dog and puppy supply shop! I am always looking for ways to give our puppies’ new families a better “puppy experience.” That’s one of the reasons I started this blog. I felt like it gives a window into our lives, and it allows waiting families to watch their puppy growing. Opening our shop will help give our puppies’ families additional resources. Because of our experience with dogs and puppies, we feel like we have a lot to offer families buying a new puppy. One way we thought we can serve them better is by offering a place to buy products we personally use and recommend. These are products we know are safe, healthy, durable, and reputable. So after spending a lot of time shopping around and researching various companies, we have put together a small shop full of practically EVERYTHING you need for a new puppy. I will be posting more about our new shop soon, and you’ll see some new pages added on to the website showing the brands and items we will be carrying.

Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week!

Gun Dogs, Summertime, and Rodents

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Things have been pretty quiet around here for the last few months. We are enjoying a break from puppies for a few months, and life has just been going on as normal!

Normal for us anyway. We have four bird dogs (3.5 maybe). Raising and training gun dogs changes your perception of a normal day.

For example, I finish my morning coffee, slip on my battered flip-flops, and head out to feed the dogs and let them out of their pens for the day. As I walk through the dewy grass, enjoying the warm summer morning, I am greeted by an exuberant Timber. He is prancing about with his tail wagging wildly. In his mouth, he is daintily carrying a dead bird, and he is SO excited to show me.

Mmmm, who doesn’t just love disposing of a dead bird first thing after their morning coffee?

Then later that same week, we repeat this same story, except Timber has a dead mouse.

Then we repeat the story again, and he has a OPPOSUM.

Mind you, each of these creatures was caught by Timber while he was in his pen over night. This dog is a hunting ninja.

What’s very interesting about each of these incidents, is the demonstration of a bird dog’s “soft mouth.” Every time I have found Timber or one of the other dogs carrying a dead bird or rodent, the animal is physically undamaged. Bird dogs have an instinct to catch, hold, and retrieve birds without damaging their feathers. They do not have the instinct to bite or shred. The times that bird dogs do kill their hunted prey, they do it pretty much by playing with them. Which I will illustrate with this story.

We were enjoying a pleasant evening outside, sitting on our lawn chairs when we saw the dogs furiously digging. Then suddenly they all started a mad scramble in random directions. A very unwise mother rabbit had built a nest in our yard. She had managed to raise her babies partway to adulthood before our dogs found them. The dogs unearthed five baby rabbits. One hopped away to safety in our neighbor’s yard, and the other four were each scooped up by one of our dogs. Again, we saw the soft mouths in action. The dogs simply raced around the yard, carrying these live baby rabbits in their mouths. They would drop them in the grass, let them hop a few feet, pounce on them, and then pick them up again. Timber dropped his and rolled on it. Feeling sorry for the rabbits, we chased after the dogs. Unfortunately, two people chasing four dogs isn’t very successful. Of the four baby rabbits, only one was dead by the time we were able to round them up, and I think that was the one Timber rolled on multiple times.

This last summer tale is probably the one that makes me the most proud. 🙂 We bought a batch of pheasant chicks this spring to raise for field training our Irish Setters. We kept them at our place for the first few weeks, and then we moved them to my parent’s place. (Otherwise, our setters would go crazy with a bunch of pheasants around!) When the chicks were almost big enough to move out, a couple escaped their pen when I opened the door to feed them. I was able to catch one of them, but the second one eluded me. He scampered about for several days, hiding in the bushes along the front of the house where the dogs can’t go. Pheasants like to hide in thick brush and bushes, and they can run FAST! They do fly, but they often try to outrun predators before taking to the air.

One afternoon, I found him pecking around the pen where the rest of the pheasants were. I tried to catch him, but he dashed into my tea patch. It was too thick for me to see where he was. Mia was out with me, and she saw the bird run into the tea patch. She flushed him out; and with surprising agility, she caught him! I was amazed! I had never seen Mia do something like that. She held him down with her paws- one paw over his head and the other over his body. When I tried to pick him up, he got away again, running at full speed with his wings flapping. I thought he was gone for good, but Mia raced after him, made a wild pounce, and caught him again! My heart nearly burst with pride.

It was so much fun to see those hunting instincts in my sweet, little Mia. Those inborn instincts to catch and hold are strong and can come out at the most unexpected times, even in dogs that have never been specifically trained to hunt.

That’s just a sampling of the fun and crazy things my dogs are doing this summer. If you have a good story of your hunting (or non-hunting) dog catching sometime crazy, I’d love to hear it!

Friday Introductions: Reese

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Happy Friday, everyone! Here is another #FridayIntroductions post about the last human member of the family. (You can read the first two here and here.)

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My beautiful baby girl! Who is…

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SO BIG!

My sweet “baby” Reese was born in January of 2017. She has been such a huge blessing and joy to our family. I thank God every day that He has given me the opportunity to be her mother.

Here she is at just a few weeks old.

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To be honest, mothering wasn’t the easiest through the newborn stage for me. Reese was a great baby- she slept well and was certainly not a fussy baby. But the adjustment was a bit difficult for me. However, after a couple of months, this mama found her groove, and life with this kiddo has been awesome ever since. And I’m not kidding. This child is the best.

Now that she’s over a year old, we are having so much fun watching her personality blossom. She has a great sense of humor, and she loves the dogs!

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Reese is a very much her daddy’s daughter. She not only looks like him, but she acts like him! That is a mostly good thing, although the strong will and unrelenting determination to tackle big challenges can be tiring some days.  She is such a social butterfly and loves getting out of the house and being with people. She’s often the crankiest when she is at home with me all day long. I’m too boring, I guess. She’s also in the midst of a very curious stage, and she is into EVERYTHING. My kitchen cupboards are usually emptied, along with my bookshelves and game cupboard. It’s a fun stage, but it’s certainly a messy stage.

She has also recently begun climbing. And she is way too proud of her accomplishments!

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This kiddo keeps me on my toes, but she has made my life so much more fun than it ever was before. (And my idea of “fun” includes catching her upside down mid-tumble when she decides to try walking down stairs like an adult and breaking her fall when she tries to stand on the seat of her riding toy)

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It’s also a humbling stage, since she has begun mimicking things she sees me do. It’s such an eye-opening experience to have a miniature human copying your habits. It certainly is teaching me to be more thoughtful about the things I say and do. If I want to raise a gentle, gracious, and godly child, then I better be a gentle, gracious, and godly example.

It truly is amazing what God teaches you through children. He has taught me so much about pure, simple JOY. Life is so much simpler and happier through the eyes of a child. By experiencing such intense love for my child, I have begun to better understand His love for me, and that is a powerful thing. He has also taught me quite a bit about surrender. As a mama, I want nothing more than to keep my baby safe. But there is so much that is outside of my control. That’s when I need to surrender my child and her needs to God, because I recognize my own inability to be “perfect” and protect her from everything.

This post has turned out much more sentimental than I intended. 🙂 Suffice it to say that I love my daughter, and I think she is the most fun kiddo around!

Enjoy your weekend!

 

First Post of the New Year

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I feel like I have been Missing In Action the past month and a half. Poor Faith hasn’t had a blog post update since she was born. And weekly pictures? Phew, this poor darling hardly has any pictures taken of her.

But, we are all still here, just doing normal life. Mia healed very well from her c-section and is back to her happy, normal self. She will be getting about a year off before having another litter, but there isn’t any concern about her ability to carry and deliver more puppies naturally. Good news!

Dear Faith is growing like a weed. She’s already six weeks old! Weaning has been going slowly, but it can be that way with single pups. They don’t have the competition of other puppies for food, so they don’t really have much desire to try things other than mama’s milk. Otherwise, though, she’s doing very well! She’s active and is enjoying our puppy play dates with a litter of puppies from another breeder. She loves playing with our daughter, and our daughter is equally as delighted have a little buddy crawling around on the floor with her.

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As for our other dogs, we were hoping to have two litters this spring- one from Duchess and one from Jade. Duchess’s pregnancy is confirmed, and I was confident that Jade was pregnant, as well. However, she fooled us! An ultrasound showed no babies in there! She seems to be going through a bit of a false pregnancy, which is common with female dogs. They can show very convincing signs of pregnancy, even to the point of producing milk, but still not be pregnant. Typically, the hormones cycle through and everything goes back to normal all on its own. We’re still very excited for Duchess’s litter of Irish Setters, and we’ll try for some Mini Goldendoodle puppies from Jade again in the fall!

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Duchess, in the meantime, is eating up a storm! I’ve stopped counting how many cups of food I give her a day. She’s now approximately six weeks pregnant, which is the time that I begin free-feeding my mama’s. I let them eat as much food as they want, and I often supplement them with an egg or vitamin every day. Her belly is growing, and she’s slowing down a bit. She still runs, but she tires quickly. I should soon be able to feel the puppies moving when she is lying still. A few more weeks and then I’ll have some more sweet setter babies from these two gorgeous dogs!

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In other household news, my baby turned one this month! And she started walking! I suppose she is now my toddler and not so much my baby. That is a little hard for this mama to accept. She is my social, giggly little girl, and I thank God every day for allowing me to be her mother.

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Mmm, I’m feeling a bit nostalgic with the passing of the one year mark. Soak in the time with your loved ones this week. Life goes by much too quickly.