Starting 2023 with Some Puppy Fireworks

Things are taking off here in at High Desert Family Doodles!

We began 2023 with a couple of relaxing weeks filled with Goldendoodle & Bernedoodle cuddles, family off-road adventures in Oregon’s high desert, and some trips ups to Washington and around Central Oregon to see friends and family. However, our pace is going to shift this next week, and we are excited for what is coming. Here’s why: we have THREE litters due in the next week! Winnie’s litter of mini Goldendoodle puppies was just born last night. This will be followed closely by a couple Bernedoodle litters. Belle’s litter of medium Bernedoodle puppies and Klaire’s litter of mini Bernedoodle puppies are essentially due on the same day. Since we confirmed these pregnancies a month ago, We’ve been stocking up on supplies and equipment to make sure we are set up to jubilantly welcome all of these puppies into the world and the High Desert Family pack this week.

Winnie’s mini Goldendoodle litter arrived last night between 10pm and 2 am. This is Winnie’s third litter of mini Goldendoodles, but it is her first with us after she joined us from another Goldendoodle breeder in Colorado. Our mini Goldendoodle stud Luca was the planned sire for this litter. This second litter for us, as he sired Honey’s Sweets litter of medium Goldendoodle puppies this past summer. In the category of “small world”, the sire for Winnie’s last litter was actually Luca’s father. This is encouraging for us, because Winnie’s last litter was temperamentally and aesthetically wonderful. We have good reason to think that Luca’s genetics will compliment Winnie’s equally well! Winnie was restless and panting throughout the past couple days, and she ha typically whelped her litters before her due date. She began showing signs of progressing labor on Monday afternoon, so we began preparing for quite the evening. Winnie delivered her first puppy around 10:15pm, and had nine puppies over the next few hours. Winnie had six male and three female mini Goldendoodle puppies. Our first born puppy from this litter was a little surprise. She’s a little black puppy, and something we didn’t anticipate with this litter. Our best estimate of why she’s black is that somehow Brownie bred with Winnie at some point while he was here for Belle and Klaire. We’re nonetheless excited for these little nuggets and will be watching them closely over the next few days.

Based on progesterone testing and estimated ovulation date, Belle’s litter is due next on Sunday. This will be Belle’s first litter, but - oh boy - will it be a big one. Belle has been showing for quite some time, and now she is in the fullest flowering of her pregnant self. While we don’t like discussing litter size until they’re actually born, this has a chance to be our largest litter so far. Belle’s sister Yose had a standard Bernedoodle litter earlier this winter, and these Bernedoodle puppies went home right before Christmas. One difference between these two litters is that Yose’s litter was an F2 generation, because both Yose and the sire Remi are F1’s. However, Belle’s litter is an F1b because the sire is our phantom poodle stud Brownie. This also highlights the sizing difference: Yose’s litter are standards, while Belle’s litter will be medium Bernedoodles, weighing between 35-55 pounds. Since both Belle and Brownie have wavy coats, any of these Bernedoodle puppies could be curly, wavy, or straight coated. I want to take this moment to highlight a difference between straight coats and flat coats; “flat coat” is another way to describe an unfurnished bernedoodle, while “straight-coat” describes the Bernedoodle’s coat texture even though they are still furnished. Since the furnishing gene is dominant and Brownie has two furnishing genes, every Bernedoodle in Belle’s litter will be furnished. We hope that Belle is just as good of a Bernedoodle puppy mom as Yose. One other sweet thing about Belle’s litter is that our neighbors and friends the Comers will welp Belle’s litter, just as they welped and raised Yose’s litter. We’re thrilled to see these puppies arrive and flourish just like their Bernedoodle cousins.

Finally, we’re expecting Klaire’s mini Bernedoodle litter hopefully later on this week. Klaire was bred with Brownie as well, and we she is due towards the end of this week. This will also be Klaire’s first litter with us. Brownie and her should produce wavy and curly-coated tri-colored mini Bernedoodles. Klaire will be whelping in our house with Winnie. Even though they live in different guardian homes, they’ve developed a fun friendship. We are aware of how mom’s personalities can change when they have a litter on the ground, and will take the necessary precautions to protect our mini Goldendoodles and mini Bernedoodles.

While this week will continue to be full of action out here in Oregon’s high desert, our hearts are full and we are thrilled to be taking care of these beautiful mini-goldendoodle puppies with the team around us.

Stay tuned for more updates as these litters come, and follow along with the journey of our pack.

Warmly,

Erin and Jay