I am sure that I’m not the only one reflecting on my favorite summer moments this weekend. The warm (ok, blazing hot) days, fun with the hose and sprinkler and water and rivers, raising sweet puppies, playing lawn games… it’s been a wonderful three months. And now I’m ready for Fall. Fall is my favorite time of year. Actually, it seems it’s everyone’s favorite time of year. And with good reason! But before we move on to sweaters and cider and knitting, I wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures of Molly from the past couple of weeks. Lots of people ask me, how is Molly after puppies…

If you asked any loving breeder what the hardest part of this process is, I am guessing they would all answer as we do: sending the puppies home. It is a sad, and often tearful goodbye. My youngest kiddos slept with the collars of their favorite pups on their wrists for a while, and still have them in their “keepsake boxes”. That part of the process only starts to sink in right around week 5, when you’re absolutely in love with them but they look like “real” puppies that can head home soon. Thankfully, week 6 brings puppy visits with our Kindred Pup families. They drive here from all over…

We expanded the puppies’ area this last week and and they are loving the extra space! They’ve also enjoyed some new toys, and their first naps in their crates. The goal of our program is to make time in the crate low anxiety so that it isn’t any harder for your puppy to transition into the crate without litter-mates once they are home! You’ll see the doors are open. We leave them open until all pups have found themselves happily playing and napping inside the crate and then begin short windows (followed by longer ones) of the door closed behind them. They have also begun to successfully use the pellet…

Well, I’m not quite sure how Time does its thing, just steadily marching on without obstacle or permission, but here it is! This sweet litter is just 3 weeks away from their forever families! So, what does 5 weeks old look like for little labrador puppies? Well, here are a few changes: we’ve added toys to their play time they’ve begun playfully chewing and tugging on each other (which leads to some conflict resolution, they’re eating more and more puppy food and introduced water daily individual attention, as well as small groups away from litter and mom for short periods we’ve started using barrier challenges so that they don’t get…

The 4th Happy 4th of July Kindred Pup families! I hope it was a fun day/evening/weekend for you all! Just think: next year you’ll be accompanied by your new four-legged-best-friend! Thankfully, there weren’t many fireworks to be heard at our house on the 4th, but the dogs and pups did well with the noise that there was. Fireworks were lit off on the surrounding evenings and we were pleasantly surprised that the pups didn’t whine or get scared at all. Of course, a pile of your siblings certainly helps. Our goal is to send these pups home to you stable and confident, so that they are prepared for whatever noises…

One of the qualities that Labradors have is that they are relatively low maintenance. A treat, a hug, and an active lifestyle keep these dogs happy and healthy for years. While smaller breeds have gained in popularity over the years, and while grooming your pets has become more and more common place, I’m still pretty sure that the low-key grooming needs of Labrador Retrievers are one of the things that keeps them number 1 as “America’s Favorite Dog”. But that is not to say that they need NO grooming. If you’d like to keep your carpet from being 10% dog fur, a good grooming brush will do wonders, especially as…

These little lab puppies are so sweet and chubby and soft! I can already see the start of their big blocky heads and feel their sweet fur. Have I told you that Molly is the softest labrador EVER?? She truly has the best, most cuddly, soft fur. And their squeaks?! Total Gush! (For some fun info about these totally-for-human sounds check out this post! ) Puppies are still gaining weight and doing fabulous with Molly. We can’t wait for them to be up and around with their eyes open. Shouldn’t be long now! Have all of you settled on a name for your new Pup yet? I’ve heard a few of…

These sweet little lab pups are 5 days old already! Molly has done just a fantastic job feeding them, and all are gaining weight well, plumping up and scooting and rooting all over their whelping box! I am so surprised by their strength already and how quickly they move. We get to start ENS soon (you can check out some of that info in this previous post or this one) which is super exciting! There will be more info in the coming days and weeks about our progress, but know that we are all working away to make sure that these Kindred Pups are the healthiest, most emotionally stable and…