We're Getting a Puppy!!!
Yeah, I didn't even try for a covert title on this one. We're totally becoming puppy parents!!!!! NavyGuy and I both love dogs - our families had them growing up and we miss having a little face running around the house, barking, drooling, stealing socks, and generally making our lives wonderful :)
So, we're getting a labrador retriever. Specifically, a cutie pie female black lab. NavyGuy researched breeders all summer, and this past weekend we visited the mom and puppies at the breeder's home in rural Washington. The puppies were born at the beginning of September, so we couldn't touch them yet (a stranger's smell on a young puppy will upset the mumma), but we got to play with the mom and see the little ones...
Here's Norah and her newborn pups! They're only hours old in this pic - don't you love the proud look on the mumma's face? She is the calmest, friendliest dog; NavyGuy and I expected her to be a little wary of strangers in the same room as her pups, but she came right out of her kennel and loved all over us.
We really liked the breeder and she clearly "got" us within thirty minutes; her email with these photos attached arrived minutes after we got home with a note saying how she was sure we'd want these for our puppy scrapbook. (Seriously, I did not bribe this woman or tell her anything... do I have a big blinking sign on my forehead that says "Crazy Paper Crafter!" or something?)
The pups at 2 weeks! There are two black females in the litter, so we'll go back in about a month to choose between the two. Our little pup can come home with us at 7 weeks; NavyGuy's crazy work schedule may push it to week 8, but we'll see what happens. After we visited on Saturday we immediately drove to Barnes and Noble to stock up on dog books!
The name game is in full swing; there's about six solid options on the "short list," but we'll probably wait until we actually bring her home and see what fits best. I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't WAIT!
Here's the latest photo our breeder sent (2 1/2 weeks old)
1) I love that they're starting to open their eyes and look like real puppies.
2) Apparently they're beginning to play with each other and romp and test out their voices.
3) Check out the yellow lab on the far left side, wedged in under the box ledge - love it!
5 comments:
Disclaimer: I'm a cat person so any stupid questions regarding canines does not make me a stupid person in general :-).
So black labs can be born to a yellow lab mother? Are they still considered purebred?I was always under the impression that black labs came from black lab mothers, yellow labs came from yellow mothers,etc...I had no idea that one color can give birth to a different color (well I'm aware that mutts and mixed breeds can but I didn't know that purebreds can too).Do they breed different colors together? Or is it just sort of the luck of the draw? Is a black lab really the exact same thing as a yellow lab-just different colors? I guess it makes sense that they're the same, I just really never thought of it before.
OK stupid questions over...
Yellow, Black and Chocolate Labs are all the same breed. Chocolate is recessive so 2 chocolates will breed chocolates, but you can have yellow parents with YY or YC and black parents with BB, BY, or BC genes.
Too much science for my taste...
Woo Hoo on finally finding a puppy. Can't wait to meet the little ball of fur! Please don't let her eat my dog!
TWP
Congratulations! Black labs are the best! I had one growing up and now I have a one-year old. I don't think I'll ever want a different breed.
Honestly, Brook, I didn't know until I started researching that you could get unlike colors from Labs, but that is the case. They are all the same dogs, though, and their temperaments and such will be similar across the different colors from the same parents.
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