Naper Doodles
Every Boy should have
two things;
a dog,
and a mother willing
to let him have one.
--Anonymous
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Naper Doodles |
Every Boy should have
two things; |
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Letters from the Families of Joy's Fourth and Final Litter
Hi Tasha!!! Karma
is doing wonderfully! As of 2 days ago she weighs 18 pounds! Karma
is very tall, i bet she has a 4 foot vertical jump! She is awesome. We
just love her so much! She is very much a part of our family. She
loves to go for walks, car rides. Here are a few pictures. :) Love,
Hi Tasha! I have suspected that Kenzy only inherited her growth genes from her maternal side. Sounds like Joy's genes were strong in Kenzy's siblings also! Kenzy was 31 pounds at the 6 month mark. The vet estimated her to hit around 45 pounds. The shock has since worn off, and we don't care what size she ends up, as long as she is healthy. I am curious to hear the weights of the entire crew.
Kenzy is doing great. She has mellowed quite a bit. We just have to
keep working on the jumping! I went ahead and had her clipped to ease
the transition to adult coat. She looks so different, but still
adorable. You can really see the poodle genes in her dainty nose. Hope
you all are enjoying your new home!
Hi Tasha! Hope you're doing well. Millie weighs 23 lbs! We just
weighed her. We're hoping she's done growing! She's probably a bit fat
right now because we've been giving her a ton of peanut butter as we try
to train her out of her separation anxiety. :) We've been very
disciplined in training her, but its not working very well. We have a
call scheduled with a renowned behaviorist (Patricia McDonnell) next
week to try to get some more help. We can get Millie to stay in her
crate with a Kong until the peanut butter runs out (we bought a large
Kong, which she can eat in 16 minutes). Right when its done she barks
and barks. We need to figure out how to make her comfortable once the
food is gone. This has been a big puzzle we're hoping to solve. Marci
trains her everyday, many times a day. Say a prayer for us. Best to you
and your family.
Tasha, I’ve been
meaning to send a note and a photo. Mack is doing great!! At his 6 mo
check up, he was 32 pounds. Here is a photo that our oldest son took for
a school project. Mack is a TON of fun and the boys love him. Sometimes,
I think that Mack thinks they are puppies, he play bows to them and
everything. I was wondering, did you have a favorite groomer here in
Naperville? He’s been to the groomer about 3 times now and we just
aren’t thrilled with the look sometimes – we do think he looks great now
though!! We hope that all is well with you. Thanks again for raising
such wonderful puppies!!!!
We love Copper's coat, too! We have no interest in
dealing with the matting that's happening right now, though, so that's
one of the reasons we're getting him groomed next week. Copper grew to
20 pounds really quickly after we got him; he was gaining a pound a
week. But it's taken him at least a month, if not a bit more, to go from
20 to 22. So he's clearly slowing down. I know that the Kalemba's pup is
big. When Copper weighed 14
pounds back at Christmas, Wrigley was already at 23 lbs! I haven't met
the Kalemba's, but we have shared a few emails.
Hi Tasha, Did you ever get the email with pics? I
hope to have more out this coming weekend. Wrigley is such a sweet baby
boy! He weighed 27#s last week at the Vet. As you can tell from pics I
will be sending, he has a slight wave to his coat but it is beautiful...
apricot on top and blonde underbelly and blonde to top of his head:)
He is very smart and learning new things everyday. Interested to see
pics of all the litter and weights? Can you send pics of litter too? Tasha, Hi! How is your house coming along? I haven't sent you pictures of Copper in a long time, so I thought I'd send you a bunch of them. Copper is doing great, and we just love him. We're in our second round of training classes. He needs work on the "grab-and-go" game he likes to play, and also pulling on the leash, but otherwise, he's remarkably well behaved for a young pup. He's been going through a barking phase (at every sound he hears), but he's doing better this week, so maybe it is just a phase! He's 22 pounds now, so he'll probably top out at around 26-27, just like you thought. It's fun to have a smaller dog because he likes to curl up on our laps! Is he officially the little guy of the litter? I imagine all of the other pups are much bigger. He and Toby are getting along much better, as you can see from the picture of them sleeping together. Copper will eat Toby's food if allowed, though, so we have to hold him on the leash when it's T's dinner time. Greg and I swear Copp is part cat. We call him our "fenine." He stretches like a cat, with his back arched up near his tail. And he likes to balance on the top of the chair and look out the window; his tail even points straight down for balance like a cat. (One of the pictures shows him doing this.) Finally, he kneads his paws like a cat does; when he's tired, he'll get his favorite toy in his mouth, then knead his paws on the pillow, blanket, or lap - wherever he's curled up - until he falls asleep. Neither of us have ever seen a dog do that. It's really adorable.
He loves riding in the
car and playing in the park with his doggie friends. There is one dog in
the neighborhood whom Copper just loves; they run each other ragged at
the park, and Copp will sleep the remainder of the day. He's had some
trouble with barfing in the car and in the middle of the night, but our
vet assures us this is fairly normal for growing puppies. Copper is
getting his first haircut next week, so I'll send you a picture then,
too! How sweet! Thank you so much for sharing! Looking at the pictures, I definitely think Copper has the wooliest coat of this littler. (Greg hasn't had any problems with his allergies, by the way). The fur on his legs is long and silky like Finnley and Cody, but on his body it is very crinkly. He started out with a wiry patch right above his tail, and it's grown to cover his entire torso. And that part never sheds. So you were right in steering us to him!
Ironically, Cody is much more of a copper color than Copper
is! The crinkly part of Copper's coat is much more red than
the silky part. And his ears and eyelashes are definitely
copper colored.
Thanks again. I can't wait to show Greg.
Don't keep the site up on my account!
:) Although it would be awesome, before you took it down, to see the
latest pictures of all the Doodle pups! I have seen pictures of the
Kalemba's Wrigley. He looks so different from Copper! We often wonder
what Red Boy looks like, since we almost got him. Maybe one last slide
show of Naper Doodles - Where are they now?
Tasha, For some reason, I am sad that
you are taking down your website. I guess it's because that's where we
saw our puppy for the first time! Copper is doing really well. We love
him more every day! Here is the latest picture. Toby, as usual, shows
more patience than I can imagine, while Copper climbs all over him! This may be the highest rated ABC 7 newscast of all time! :) We've told everyone we know. Greg said both boys behaved like champs, although Copper did try to eat Greg's microphone wire! The reporter and the cameraman couldn't believe he was only four months old, because he was so good. And Toby was perfect, as usual!
I can't wait to see what they do with
the story. Greg expressed our concern that whichever breed the Obamas
choose, there will be unscrupulous puppy mills who will try and
capitalize on their popularity. I remember hearing how that happened
after the movie 101 Dalmations came out. Everyone wanted a dalmation,
and puppy mills had a field day. Anyway, Greg mentioned that, and the
reporter said, "Wow, I never thought of that." So the story will
probably turn into an expose on puppy mills! Which would be fine; I'm
all for raising awareness! Friends, One of the puppies from Naper Doodles’ last litter will be on Chicago’s ABC 7 tonight 1/13 at 6pm. They own Copper, a Mini Labradoodle from Naper Doodles, and Toby, a Portuguese Water Dog. Because President-Elect Obama has stated that he will get one of these breeds they called ABC on a lark and both dogs will be on TV! Laura and Greg, thanks for the heads up!! I will be watching and grinning!! I forwarded this on to about 50 people by BCC and removed your email address.
For Naper Doodles customers: If anyone
asks about your Labradoodle, please point them either to me (though I’m
no longer breeding since Joy was spayed, I’d be happy to direct them) or
to
www.Goldendoodles.com
That’s the BEST place to find a Labradoodle or Goldendoodle! Tasha, Yesterday morning, I heard snippets of Obama’s latest interview, in which he was asked, “What’s the status on your daughters’ puppy?” Obama replied that they were going to get either a Portuguese Water Dog or a Labradoodle. And while you may not agree with Obama's political views, you can't argue with his taste in dogs! Last night on ABC News with Charles Gibson, they did a story on the future Obama dog, interviewing Ted Kennedy (who owns a Portie), and Henry Winkler (who owns a Doodle). On a lark, Greg emailed a picture of our dogs to the local ABC affiliate, since we have one of each! Believe it or not, they came to our house today to film the dogs and interview Greg.
The piece will air tonight at 6:00 p.m. on
ABC 7. If you don't get Chicago area news, the clip will be on their
website starting tomorrow:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/index
Yes, this is the very definition of a slow news day. But then again, the
last time news crews were in my neighborhood, it was to film our corrupt
governor, so I’m all for slow news. Tasha, I wanted to send you a copy of the picture we sent out in our Christmas card. Our "boys" are getting along really well now. Copper still likes to bite Toby's ears, but Toby tussles right back at him now instead of trying to get away. When we take them to the park, they love running together and chasing each other. Copper loves Toby so much that he won't go more than two inches away from him! They still want to eat each other's food, so solving that problem is a project on our "to do" list. Copper in particular will absolutely assault Toby's bowl, with kibbles flying everywhere! Copp is gaining about a pound a week and is probably up to 16 pounds now. I've been trading emails with Pauline Kalemba, and she said Wrigley was 22 pounds at Christmas, so he's probably 25 pounds now! Even though we think Copper is so big, he's still probably the littlest guy in the litter. I often wonder what Copper's siblings look like now.
The last bit of news is
that Copper "graduated" from puppy class last week. He passed with
flying colors! The instructor said he was very smart, and that we need
to keep challenging him. There are many things he still needs to work
on, and we have several tricks we can teach him to keep him from getting
bored. Overall, he's a really well behaved puppy, for still being so
young. I took him for a walk in our neighborhood "square" the other day,
and you wouldn't believe how many people stopped to tell me how cute he
was! Hope all is well. Give Joy and Bella some scratches for us!
Tasha, We just wanted to send you a quick update about Finnley. We just
took him to the vet for his last booster shot, and he weighed a whopping
23 lbs! He is getting very big, and is about the same size as Miller! We
start puppy school this Thursday, he already knows "sit" real well but
otherwise we're hoping classes will be beneficial! Cody and Finn play
together several times a week, Cody is much smaller and has a lot more
energy. Finn is fairly even mannered, except for when Miller or Cody
come to visit! We've attached some photos for you, including one of
Cody. Enjoy! Thanks,
Copper's Family, I
needed that today, you canʼt
know how much. Joy was spayed
this morning and she came through it fine, but both Bruce and I think
she looks sad. L She was such an incredible Mommy and we were so
pleased with her puppies. Thank you for sharing the photo with me, and
especially for sending it today. J You brought a smile. Merry Christmas
to all five of you. J Tasha, Look at how big our pup is! Copper is now a whopping 12 pounds. He loves to play in the snow, even when it's below zero outside. Thankfully, we don't have to go out with him when it's that cold because he knows how to let himself in! It's true - Copper whines at the door to go out, goes outside to potty/play, then pushes the door open with his nose to let himself back in the house. He learned this from watching his older brother. Speaking of which, he and Toby are getting along much better. They really enjoy sleeping on the couch together and playing together - although Toby is tired after 20 minutes and Copper wants to play for another hour! The chewing has improved, but we still have to practice "leave it" every day! I know we'll have to keep working on that for quite some time, but just seeing him get a little better every day makes the job easier. Andrew absolutely loves Copper, and so do the rest of us. My dad has fallen in love with him, too; he calls him Coppy. We're looking forward to Christmas and the challenge of making sure he doesn't chew open everyone's presents!
Merry Christmas to you and your family,
Hi Tasha,
Thought you and your family would like to see how cute Cody is. He is
growing so fast—13.4 lbs last week at his appointment. He is very
healthy and smart. He hasn’t had any accidents in the house for quite
awhile and sleeps 8 hours in his kennel at nite! We are so in love with
him and are so happy to have him. He has a great personality and loves
everyone. Of course, he and his brother, Finn, love to play together.
Thanks again for such a great puppy. This picture was taken this morning. He loves the snow! We can't believe we've had him for a month! I think he's making good progress in being a well-mannered dog. His nipping has greatly decreased, and the housebreaking is pretty much finished. (He is perfectly housebroken in the kitchen. We are now slowly opening up the rest of the house to him, one room at a time.) We're still working on the chewing. It's slower-going than the other areas; he really likes our pant legs and things. The other picture shows the dogs in the car on the way to my family's for Thanksgiving. They are getting along better, although they still have a ways to go before they're best friends. Toby did initiate playing with Copper for the first time the other day. Usually, Copper tries to play and Toby's not interested. But this time it was Toby's idea, which we thought was a great sign! We know several other people with two dogs, and they almost universally say that it takes about six months for the older dog to truly get used to the younger one.
The other thing we're
working on is sleeping in! Copper is like an alarm clock, going off
between 6:30 and 6:45 every morning. Which is fine during the week, but
on the weekend, we want to sleep in, and he doesn't know what that means
yet. But all in all, a good first month! Hope you had a nice
Thanksgiving, and I'm sure I'll be in touch before Christmas!
Hi Tasha!! Karma is doing great! We are so happy with her and love her
very much! She is housebroken... eats great, we go for walks every
day. She loves the snow. It is so cute to see her with it. She met
her first dog yesterday and her first cat on Saturday. Both meetings
went very well. She is socializing great and is now getting used to her
crate and us leaving for a while. Last night she finally slept for 8
1/2 hours! We woke up and were shocked at what time it was. She got
her shots and did great at the vet. She needed an antibiotic for her
incision, has finished it and she is good to go! I just cant even
express how wonderful she is and how much she is loved! This
Thanksgiving we are thankful for many things and one of them is you! We
will keep you updated! Have a great Thanksgiving! Tasha, I just wanted to give you an update on Kenzy. She has grown so quickly, it astounds us how much she changes every couple days. She is now just over 12 pounds! She is very confident and starts the day running. She mastered the bedtime routine and now will walk into her crate and snuggle in for the night when it's "nigh-night" time. We are still working on discouraging the mouthing of people, and she is continuing to improve with that. It's only when she is super excited that she can't seem to stop. Since she is still a baby, I figure that will take a while. She has made strides in potty training also. After spraying all the carpet with Nature's Miracle No Marking, she doesn't use the carpet anymore! Yea! Now we just have to work on convincing her that the tile isn't an option either. All in good time.
Thank you for the shampoo sample. I went
ahead and ordered 3 gallons of the stuff to save on shipping costs. I
did find a discount code for the site, I used the code XM8 and was able
to get the gallon size for $29.95. It seemed like a good deal and now
that I've used the product, I'm really glad that I stocked up. Kenzy
smells wonderful after using that stuff. She even did great when I used
the hair-dryer to dry her off. Here's a pic of our little fuzz-ball...
Hope all is going well with your family, and you all have a blessed
Thanksgiving.
Almost forgot...Wrigley knows sit, gives paw, and down-lays
down! Yesterday, he went into his crate to lay down for a nap with the
door open! And this morning, we figured out how to go up the steps...
but of course once up there... he wants to come down-ha! Too funny. He
is 11#s this week (7 when we got him)!
Tasha, I thought you might like a
recent picture of Copp (as we call him for short). Then I wondered how
many of your puppy owners send you pictures and emails - He's gotten so big - almost 8 lbs. now! And he's learned "sit" and "shake" already. (Greg and Andrew taught him one afternoon while I was at work. I couldn't believe how quickly he learned it.) He's also learning "off" and I'm trying to teach him "drop" as an anti-chewing command (particularly when he has our pant legs his his mouth!). Our current dilemma is that he hates it when we leave the room - we keep him gated in the kitchen/sitting room, and if we leave, he whines up a storm. We are going to take a puppy class when his shots are finished, and we're hoping the instructor has some ideas for his mini-separation anxiety. Ironically, he's fine when we leave the house - he loves his crate and doesn't complain about being put in there at all. But if he knows we're still in the house, he gets upset.
Anyway, I hope you're enjoying your
post-puppy life! Tasha, I thought you'd like this picture of Toby and Copper together. Copper is still terrorizing Toby - following him everywhere and biting his tail - but Toby is so docile that he doesn't complain or even fight back. He just keeps wandering in search of peace and quiet! Did Bella do this to Joy when she was a pup?
The housebreaking is going very well. I
think we'll be there in another week or so. I think our anti-nipping
training is having effect, and we're working on the chewing, too. I have
discovered that taking him for a short walk as soon as he wakes up and
eats makes him much calmer the rest of the day (and less likely to go
after our shoes - while they're still on our feet!). Hope all is well
with you! Hi Tasha, Below are some pictures of Wrigley's first week! Wrigley is doing just great and from what I can tell from Cooper's Mom, acting just like he should...a pup:) It can be overwhelming but loving him up all we can. We switched to an open/wire crate for daytime and kept the plastic (den-like) at our bedside for nighttime. He is doing much better and we find him asleep when we come home...not crying or barking...and not soiled:) Whew! Last night he slept until 4:30am...then went back in and slept until 6:30. Like an overtired kid who just needs to sleep but is fighting it... Wrigley will start nipping and tearing up the house when he gets tired... which is our signal for quiet time... he usually crashes out in minutes:) We have much better days on those days I am home with him. We play and have quiet time in the open crate...without any lip or destruction. On the days we have the dog walker come...he seems to 'act out' more at night and like last night...all of the night! Only wanting to bit on us...not the toys and would not nap for anything. He is usually very happy to just sit in our lap and naw on his toys....but not so much when he is in his crate the longer days. Understandable. Perhaps we should put him on a lead when he gets this way to stop him from running the house as he tries to tear up everything in site? The owner of the dog service (My Paws & Claws-Kat) has been great in helping us with using a lead outside. Wrigley does not try to bit his leash anymore and we look forward to taking him on long walks when he is vaccinated:) Wrigley is eating a ton and knows what 'lets eat' means and gets super excited. How long do we keep feeding him 3 times a day? He knows 'potty' and if he has to go b/t our outside trips...he always goes to the paper. Very few accidents.
When we come from outside, we know to sit and as long as I am not trying
to wipe his feet...today he gave me paw-both sides:) A treat for
sure:) Thanks for all your suggestions. Will keep in touch.
Hi Tasha,
Sorry we missed your call. Cody is doing wonderful and we love him so
much. Of course, he cries when we put him in his kennel at nite but the
time he cries is decreasing every nite. He will sleep (be quiet) for
about 6 hrs or so. He is a sweetheart and seems quite smart. He is
little but mighty!! He has only had a couple of accidents in the house
since we’ve gotten him so he is really progressing. He even went to the
door today and whined so Dan took him right out and he went. We were
excited!! He had his vet check last Wednesday and there were no
problems. He weighed 7# 2oz. So, everything is going well and we are
very happy and grateful to have him in our lives. He and Finnley have a
great time when they are together. Thanks again and we are hoping your
move and transition are going well. We will keep in touch.
Tasha, All is going well with Kenzy. Yes, it has been a big adjustment. I work in as a RN in a newborn ICU, and I can honestly say that taking care of triplets is easier then a single puppy! She is such a joy though. She is doing great with the potty training and we've only had a few accidents......thank goodness for Nature's Miracle! Although she doesn't like it when I first put her in the crate at night, she does really well with it once she realizes that it's bedtime. We took her to the vet today and she received rave reviews. She did wonderful, tolerating the exam without upset. We return in 3 weeks to continue her immunizations and such. As I type this, she is asleep at my feet, happily dreaming. My father has proclaimed her spoiled, but that hasn't stopped him from showering her with compliments. My mother had her first round of chemo yesterday, and is rather ill today, but Kenzy has been a great source of enjoyment for her today.
Thank you again for fur-ball of joy.
The only real struggle I'm having is convincing my daughters that Kenzy
has legs and should be given the opportunity to utilize them more
frequently. Otherwise, they would carry her around everywhere! Hope all
is going well with your home, and the walls all went up smoothly. Many
thanks....
Here's the newest addition to our family :) Her name is Millie and
she's absolutely gorgeous!!! We will send more pic's when we get a free
moment from potty training! Hope everyone is well! Hi, Tasha! Is your house quiet and lonely now without the puppies? (Probably not, what with the three boys and two dogs!) I wanted to send you a couple of pictures from Copper's first visit to our back yard. He's settling in well, and seems to have become very attached to his humans already. He wags his tail like crazy whenever he lays eyes on one of us. He is sleeping 7 hours each night, which is great so far - although we are looking forward to him sleeping 8 hours! We are following your advice on taking up the food at water and 6 p.m. Potty training is going well, I think. (Greg has more recent experience with this than I do, so I am trusting his opinion, and he says it's going well.)
We are using the bitter apple spray to
keep him from chewing on the furniture. He is a funny little dog and
makes us laugh. We can see why your sons called him Crazy Dude! He runs
in circles around the island in our kitchen. And we have a small step
down from the deck to the back yard (it's about 4 inches high). Instead
of just stepping down, Copper takes a huge flying leap, as if it were 4
feet high. Anyway, we'll send you some more pictures as the
months wear on! Than you again for taking such good care of our little
guy.
Hi Tasha, We are having a ton of fun. Finally took a nap...not b/c he
wanted to but b/c he fell asleep standing up :)
Hi Tasha, Let us know if the Skokie family would be willing to swap
emails/contact info...or any of the litter families...for possible play
dates or boarding options in the future if needed. I am sure the pups
would love to see their siblings again and we would welcome any one of
them into our home. Please share our email and/or home #. Thanks.
Tasha, We would LOVE to pick Mack up at your Naperville house!!!! Let us know what time works best for you, and we will be there. Also, THANK YOU so very much for contacting Sophie’s family (from Joy's second litter). We were able to stop by and visit with Sophie and her family on Saturday!! She is such a sweet dog!! My husband LOVED her and she was great with the kids. Sophie's owners showed my 6 and 4 year old some of the commands for Sophie and she performed amazingly for them!! It was such a treat!! I think that it was a great way to show the boys how important training a dog is!! Her coat is AMAZING!! My husband loved it, so we are very excited!
We can’t wait to have Mack here in our
home. Thank you again.
Tasha:
I was just curious what the vet said about Joy's last litter. Is she
going to continue to have smaller litters? Or was that just a fluke?
We just want to be prepared in case we aren't able to get a
puppy in the next litter. Now that we live in Sycamore, Miller comes to
our house every Thursday and Friday (work permitting) while Mom and Dad
are at work. I just absolutely adore him. In fact, I offered to buy him
from my parents... but Mom claims he is "priceless." :) Thanks, Tasha, Thank you for the wonderful news! The Fall 2008 timing will be great. It's always good to practice a bit a patience so a whole bunch of patience should be even better for us! We live about 5 or 6 hours south of you, in southeastern Missouri. Due to the distance, regretfully, we will not be able to stop by for a proper introduction before the birth. But I doubt that anything would keep us away from that 6-week-old visit!
We will happily spend the day in
the car for a brief visit. The hardest part will be leaving, and
waiting an additional 2 weeks to pass before we can return for her.
Thank you for this wonderful gift you have given us. We have been
waiting years for the proper time to bring a new life into our
family and I am so excited that we are one step closer to that
moment. Please give Joy a hug and kiss from us also, and assure her we
will surround her baby will love every second of every day we are
blessed to be a part of her life. Wishing you and yours a blessed
Christmas,
Hey
Tasha: I am the Doty's daughter. Miller is the greatest dog... We
are so happy to have him in our family! I wanted to email you about your
miniature puppies tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2008. We are
buying a home next spring and will be ready to add a puppy to our family
later that year. I'll continue to check your website for updates on the
new puppies and will be sure to jump at the first opportunity to place a
down payment on one. Thanks for giving us such an awesome family dog...
We love Miller so much and are excited about purchasing another dog from
you in the future! Sincerely,
If
you don't own a dog,
at least one, |
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©2010 Naper Doodles Updated 03/10/2010 |
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Parents: Everlasting Joy & Signature Armani
