Hi there!  I wanted to talk today about a couple questions new Labradoodle puppy seekers have-- First off, nail clipping- this is one that should be pretty simple to deal with.  As far as equipment, I recommend fingernail clippers, yep plain old human clippers.  Maybe large toe-nail size for mature dogs, but good sharp clippers and a calm approach are best.  Basically, talk to your Labradoodle gently while you take a paw and push up under one "toe" to expose the claw.  Look closely and you can see that there is a long thin sharp part that thickens closer to the toe.  If there is no thin sharp point, you may not need to trim.  But if there is, hold the clippers "horizontally", the same way you would trimming your nails and clip a couple millimeters off.  I like to put the clipper around the nail, lift so the bottom jaw contacts the underside and slide toward the tip until it starts to catch where the claws hooks down. That's usually a good spot to clip.  Try not to over-do until your dog trusts you in this.  Try not to clip to deeply and draw blood, that will break the trust quickly.  Mainly practice exposing the claw fully, and getting the Labradoodle to cooperate calmly. Otherwise let the vet do it.   The other question is "What color Labradoodle should I choose?"  My answer is "Chocolate" because its my favorite, "Black" because its so beautiful and always looks clean, and "Golden" because its so eye-catching and cute.  Just pick a Adirondack Labradoodle, male or female, and you'll be safe!

OK, the Fiona/Chaco F1B Labradoodles are getting big.  The eyes are all open, and they're transitioning from "creeping" to "scurrying" and soon they'll be "scrambling" around the pen.  They are just getting to the age where we start to really interact with them.  Before this all they do is nurse and sleep, and get carried around by kids a few minutes a day.  But soon they get a little food from people and a little attention, and people become their favorite obsession in the world. Also, some exciting news--Chaco's x-ray assessment came back OFA and his hips are certified "GOOD"  Not surprising given his parentage, but important to get that established!  So, now comes the fun part of finding homes for all these Adirondack Labradoodles and raising them up through the fun, interactive middle weeks!  The individual Labradoodle pictures with names and descriptions are up, so go find your new best friend!

Yeah, so on the last blog post I thought we were a week to ten days from puppy-time.  Turns out it was two days later that we had a burst of F1B Labradoodles.  All through the night on Jan 22,2012 we had puppies arriving.   They have been doing great, actually today was first worming and nail trim.  These are going to be super Adirondack Labradoodles!  The last group out of Fiona and Chaco has been a hit with the families.  Look at the photos page at the chocolate teddy bear Ellie Rose.   She was the last one chosen from the last litter, and what a beauty.  Everything I have heard back from all our customers is along the lines of  "We love her, everyone loves her, my wife is more in love than me even though she resisted, best dog ever"  Anyway, now this F1B Labrado mating is a proven combination, so we're looking forward to see who gets to be there forever families! 

Hello Folks,  We've got a load of new pups in Fiona's belly.  She's all lovey from the Mommy-hormones, can't get enough affection.  She's like a cat, going around and around between my legs in a figure eight.  We are excited about these F1B pups, Fiona's second litter with Chaco.  The summer litter was so sweet, and so beautiful, and so special that we are ready for a repeat.  Please let us know if you want to reserve yours and we'll figure out delivery and maybe a time half way through when you can come for a visit at the farm!  Around maple sugaring time!  These will sure be sweet pups by that measure!

OK, now we've got Fiona's litter of F1B's on the ground!  They are awesome.  You just have to love the fur.  Heather calls it chenille.  Really my take on the whole Labradoodle mix is that most people really like the look of an un-primped Standard Poodle, but they don't want to admit to having a poodle.  In France, Poodles are called Canard, or Duck dogs.  If only we'd call them that, people would like them more! Labs are the most popular breed of all, so people want some Lab.  Thus a high poodle% Labradoodle is the most popular Doodle.  I call them our Adirondack Water Dogs, a new breed :) Anyway, we love our Chaco poodle, and of course mama Dolly the Lab (now Grandma).  Check out the pics of Chaco shaved, he looks like a Weimaraner with fuzzy ears.  He's ghostly Chocolate grey.  And Fiona of course is just a friendly Black Beauty.

Well, yeah, I have been lame about  posting here!  But now I'm on it.  It has been a great litter so far.  Dolly has been the uber-mother.  We've still hardly had to clean up and they are extremely well-fed by her.  All growing evenly and fast.  Anyway, I also thought I'd share an email reply I made to a puppy owner, in reply to her understandable worries as they wait to finally get their precious puppy.  Her question was basically, "Did we get the right puppy?" Because like 90% of our previous customers, she chose her boy from afar by computer.  So here's what I have to say about that:

"Hi Janet,  We love Curry!  He's right out there mixing it up with  
the rest of them.  They are so funny, barking and tussling with each 
other (for about two minutes a day, when they're not eating or 
sleeping).   I am confident that you won't find him shy or cowering 
or weird--we don't grow them like that.  No in all seriousness, I 
think most of that comes from bad experiences with uninformed people overreacting to young dogs, which won't happen here or at your place, so we're good.  We have yet to hear anything but these kind of comments  "We love him/her--what a personality--best dog ever"   More pictures soon.  Just got your new email.  The video is hilarious, b I think Curry is in the back right and gets set straight by little Phoebe, and then walks toward Ginger wagging his tail, and then he gets picked up by the chest by Phoebe and carried toward the 
camera.  And he probably ended up wagging his tail after all that!  
Anyway, with us I say pick it on color or pick it at random, it'll  
end up your favorite color and gender of dog  :) Have a great night!"

So my point is make sure you choose the right breeder, and you'll find you chose the right puppy!