Whew.

It feels as though we have had puppies all year! Wait! We HAVE had puppies all year! What?? 

Coco had her last litter of three pups on January 3, 2022 and Maggie May had her second litter of 9 puppies on January 9, 2022...the only thing is after the families came for their little darlings, we kept back one of Maggie's little boys to have here as a playmate for his sister who came back to us for 4 weeks while her family went out of town. and now they are both back with their respective owners and my husband is SUPER excited to have his days back! Raising one puppy is dedicated, hard work but TWO? Well, put it this way...we didn't quite know what we were getting in to...but now we do! And Maggie LOVED hanging out with two of her children while helping with their play time! 

Now we are going to be skipping Maggie's next heat cycle to give her a little rest. But November is just down the road a little piece and will be bringing with it new beginnings...Lord willing, of course!

...sounds of crickets...

Well, the nest is empty again. And I am happy! Why do I say that with such elation, you ask? Am I cold hearted? Dont I like PUPPIES? Really? Indeed I do! But more than that is the fact that when a puppy leaves the LaBelle Labrador Site they are moving on to greater things! More one on one! More adventures! That is why I am happy today!

So, as my waiting list grows for 2022, I will enjoy my solitude and quietness...

Maggie May has had her first litter of 10 puppies! Oh My Gosh! I didn't think she honestly looked that big! But she hid them up in her ribcage...she had to have! Otherwise, where did they come from? Those little darlings came on June 25th, a day before my stepdad's birthday. And Maggie is a GOOD mother. Very attentive. When I send her outdoors to potty, though...she is still digging a hole. I don't get it. Her puppies have a very nice place to nest. Apparently it's not dirty enough! HA!

On Monday, June 28th, I gathered Maggie's little Vanilla Beans in a nice comfy basket and we all headed to the Vet to have their dew claws removed. Everything seems to be right on schedule!

We are still waiting now for Coco to whelp! She is due July 8th...more to come!

Maggie May and Joe Biz had found each other and did what doggies do best...and what will come of it, you say? I can only hope and pray a full litter of VERY healthy and beautiful yellow puppies! And if there is one black puppy, then that will even be better (That one is for Evie!).

Another fun bit of information I would like to add here is that, yes, I did it...I pulled Coco out of retirement and got her and Dash together ONCE AGAIN and, well, ahemmm...they enjoyed their little 20 minute rendezvous. So, we are expecting  TWO LITTERS this summer!

Don't I have enough on my plate with preparing a new chicken coop with chicken yard PLUS a new perinneal herb garden PLUS a vegetable garden PLUS flowers flowers and MORE flowers?? WHEW! I'm already worn out and it's just the beginning of May! But apparently I don't have enough to do so now I know why I LOVE the winter months...so I can REST! HA!

The Coco Puffs are already two weeks old! They're eyes are open and now their ears are starting to open as well. Such little darlings! My granddaughter, Vienna, was over last night and today when she helped me to tag the puppies (give them their collars) administer de-worming med and weigh them, when we were done she walked away saying," see you later, little darlings!" And it got me thinking what is so cute about that word, "darling" and I think it's the "ling" part of the word.

Then that got me thinking about other words that have "ling" on the end of them like sapling and spiderling. Even a spider sounds like something ya just wanna cuddle because it sounds so cute with the part, "ling" added to it. Ha!

Then I got to thinking why not call the puppies "pupplings"? I mean...they ARE puppies afterall and darling is a word used when you address someone you love...another human...not a dog. So I decided to call those little cuties, "pupplings" So, there you go!

Coco did it again! She brought forth her new litter of 8 new puppers! Coco has really amazed me over the years with her ability to whelp (give birth) her pups with NO HELP whatsoever! In fact, I purposely left the room so she could get a new puppy out on her own. She likes to do things HER way. She is just like that!

And another thing that is pretty exciting...all eight puppies have new owners coming to pick them up on puppy pick up day! Woohoo! That is my favorite day! Seeing the families and how the excitement grows! And everybody is happy and nobody is ever sad. A glorious day!

OFA has a special certificate for dogs who meet the parent standards of their breed. It is called CHIC certification. I decided to get Maggie May CHIC certified.

Last week was her eye exam and she passed! The other genetic testing and xrays were done months ago and she passed those tests as well. So Maggie has been set to a higher standard, which means her pups will be going for $800 each when I have her bred in the spring of 2021. 

This is all so exciting...

I did it. It wasn't planned from the beginning but Coco went into her estrus cycle and she seemed so eager for another round of pups that I had to oblige her.

So Coco and Dash are at it again! They tied twice for 20 minutes each time and now the date is set for January 21, 2021....

Imagine that! I was concerned that Coco would bring Maggie into her heat cycle as well and I am most certainly not ready for 2 litters at the same time this soon. But Maggie decided to wait for better weather and I am oh so glad of it.

So there you have it! I am already getting asked about her little chocolate pups and have a couple on the list. I am also thinking of keeping a little girl to take her place onced she retires and STAYS retired!! I had a few people asking for puppies in October and November that I turned away, so I will be re-contacting those people to let them know they can be on the call list if they so choose to.

And I thought I was gonna have a quiet winter....

The puppies have all gone to their new homes! The nest is empty!

Pepper and Coco are officially retired now. They are both 8 years old and have given us wonderful, beautiful, and healthy puppies and now it is time for them to enjoy their golden years (though I know they loved having their little puppies and were good mamas!)

Maggie is 2 years old and in 2021 she will be bred for her first time. I have gone the extra mile with her and got her CHIC certified through OFA...which simply means, she has had all the health clearances that the Labrador Retriever Parent club has set forth in their guidelines. 

So, next year, in 2021, LaBelle Labradors will be back down to one litter for the year, Lord willing. Even though I have set the rate for her pups at $800 limited registration, I haven't decided for sure if I will be willing to travel to deliver a puppy to a family outside of the tri-state area. If I do, those puppies will have travel expenses added to their rate. And there you have it! Happy Autumn and holiday festivities!

Wow. The Coco Puffs are nearing their 7 week birth age...in 3 days! and they will be going home in 4days! Funny...I'm gonna miss those little darlings. But! Their new lives will just be beginning and they will be very very happy. I am sure of it!

Pepper's Ronies just turned 4 weeks old today. They have come a long way. Their mother had an emergency hysterectomy when they were just shy of 1 week old and Coco was called in to be the wet-nurse until Pepper arrived the next day to claim her little ones again. Pepper and babes recovered and are doing tremendously well. 

Pepper and Coco will be retiring after their litters this year and I have started a new call list for my Maggie May's first litter in the spring/summer of 2021. I already have 6 people on the list, though I suspect a few may fall off due to my decision to breed Maggie with another Yellow, therefore I am certain she will only have yellows in her litter. I'm excited for her to be a new mother! I am also thinking of moving the whole business in the basement so I can rreclaim my garge for the truck! It's been years since I parked my truck or any vehicle for that matter, in a shelter.

At last!