We’ve been remodeling the main floor of our house lately, which makes life a little crazy. I feel like we’ve been able to keep a healthy balance of caring for our dogs and puppies during this busy time, however, the thing that has slipped through the cracks is our online presence. I just haven’t been able to take pictures and post them as often as I used to!

But, I was able to wake up early this morning and get a nice cup of coffee, so I’m taking advantage of the quiet and writing this to share more about our current litter.

As you may know, Suki had her first litter of Bernedoodle puppies on June 5th. They are past the stage where they just lay there and nurse all the time and have begun to toddle around, play, fight, and make all kinds of funny noises. This is when the real work begins on our end.

We’ve already begun their potty training by introducing them to litter boxes. This helps bridge the gap between the times when they can’t go outside due to weather, or our availability. 

Since it’s summertime, we are also able to take them outside quite a lot to go potty, which reminds me of an experience I had and some thoughts I wanted to share.

Yesterday, I was scrolling through some posts on social media and came across one on a dog breeding group that caught my attention. Pictured were some cute 5 week old Golden Retriever puppies and the caption read something to the effect of “Whew, made it to five weeks! Litter box training has been really hard because I will NOT let my puppies outside on the grass.” I’m paraphrasing, there was actually a lot more said, but that’s the gist of it.

Further down in the comments, the poster explained that she was TERRIFIED of the puppies picking up parvo and thus, would be keeping them inside until they were 16 weeks old and fully vaccinated.

To each their own, but this is NOT how we do things at Joley Aire. This lady’s puppies may never catch Parvo, but their social, emotional health will be damaged for the rest of their life. 

Puppy Culture taught me that the first 12 weeks of a puppy’s life set the tone for how they interact and react to the world around them for the rest of their lives. If they encounter a wide range of stimuli and experiences when they are young (and before their fear instincts set in), they will forever react with calm curiosity to novel circumstances.

Also, I believe it will be difficult to teach those puppies to go potty outside when it has been so ingrained in them to go only in a litter box. If they were a toy-sized dog, that might be ok, but I’m sure no one wants to clean the litter box of a full sized Golden Retriever.

I’m not a vet, but I would have some concerns for the puppy’s immune system as well. Immune systems are built and fortified by being exposed to things and learning to fight against them. I’d rather the puppy’s be exposed to bacteria and viruses while they are still nursing and can benefit from mom’s immune system as well. Puppies that are so sheltered will have a shock to their immune system when they are taken to their new homes and suddenly exposed to all kinds of things. It’s like kids going to Kindergarten the first time.

Finally, it might sound like I’m promoting the training and experiential aspect of the puppy’s life over its health, but the reality is that if there is parvo outside, the Mom would probably be carrying it inside. So, unless you are keeping her inside as well, the efforts are futile and you’ve wasted the first 16 weeks of the puppy’s most crucial training and socialization time.

Our puppies have always been allowed outside, are healthy, and have a good start to potty training.

Adoptions Update

Bravo has been reserved! We are very excited to have found another loving home for our other merle puppy from Suki’s litter! He and Delta are the only ones that have homes thus far.

It’s been a very different time trying to find homes for this litter. In the past, we’ve had long waiting lists, but this year, we’ve had to work hard to get the word out about our puppies. I’ve definitely had to eat some humble pie this year.

However, I still have faith that God will send the perfect people to bring our puppies into their home to be blessed by.

If you know of anyone who is looking for a companion, please tell them about our Bernedoodles! Every little bit helps!

Upcoming Litters

Izzy, Denali, and Akira should all be bred, but it’s still a little too early to tell if they are pregnant yet. They all look a little bigger, but not enough to say with certainty. We’ll keep you posted on the upcoming litters.

Pupdates

We received a couple of amazing updates from some of our past puppies. These totally make our day and remind us why we do what we do!

The first few are from Virginia from the “States Litter”. On May 23rd her owner wrote -

“Virginia…just over 4 months old..weighing in at 44 pounds..just had her first grooming today!!!! Softest and Fluffiest dog EVER!!!!”

Then, on June 25th they said -

“Here Ginny is with her cousin…sun pic was about 3 weeks ago. People freak out about how beautiful she is..and she is so good! She is truly a blessing in our family, I can’t thank you enough…It’s like an angel came down from heaven and picked her for us.”

The next update was of Ferrari from the “Cars Litter”. They wrote:

“Hey Rebekah! 

I hope you and your family had a great 4th of July weekend! I just wanted to send you a pupdate on our little man Ferrari (now named Lando). He is an absolute dream. He has been the addition we’d always hoped we’d have! We quite literally explain him as a puddle of love and fur… he melts into any snuggle or petting position you try to put him in! He is so calm, affectionate, and it’s so clear that he was raised in a loving home with kids — he gravitates toward every child he sees and is so patient with even the most excited little ones he comes across! The first several days he was with us, we were shocked at home quickly he adapted to life with us and our other bernedoodle, it was like he’d been with us since day 1. Thank you so much for welcoming us so openly to the Joley Aire family & giving us the best pup we could’ve ever imagined. It’s just an added bonus that he gets cuter every single day!”

It was so great to hear from these wonderful families and see their beautiful puppies. We’re so thankful to have such a wonderful Joley Aire Family!