First kiss

Merry Christmas to you!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 
The best part of breeding puppies is the JOY of owning such lovely dogs!

We always have a Whtie Christmas!

Left to Right:   Winnie, Angel (4 months),  Snowy and Bianca

Update on LIa at 11 months old

This is Lia the Schnoodle who lives in Miami, FL.   She is from Winnie and Ricky's litter.   Her owner has this to say, "Best decision we ever made.  She is fantastic!"    Isn't Lia super cute!   She has Winnie's face....looks very much like sister Ginger.   Lia was the lightest puppy in her litter.   Isn't she a pretty champagne color! 

Black Schnoodle puppy

This is what the puppy below will look like at 3 months of age.  This is a puppy from Phantasia & Ricky  litter 2018

    UPDATE:   This Puppy has found his forever home!

Phantasia's boy puppy at 8 weeks of age

This little fellow is the sweetest little puppy you will ever meet.   Full of love, playfulness, and personality.   He takes after his mother, Phantasia, who is exceptionally sweet and loving.  She is very special and her puppies share that exceptional personality..  The blue photo above is his 8 week photo.

This Schnoodle puppy is SOLD.  He comes from quality breeding lines.  His Mother, Phantasia, is an AKC  Black and Silver Schnauzer. Phantasia's parents were OFA certified for Heart and Knees.   Ricky, the AKC registered Poodle father, had the recommended genetic testing for PRA, which is specific for Poodles.   Both of the parents are exceptionally healthy dogs with wondeful friendly temperaments.

The orange photos below are the 6 week photos.
Contact me today at GrowingPuppies@gmail.com if you would like to find out more about this lovely little male Schnoodle puppy.

Boy Schnoodle 6 weeks of age.

 

Are Schnoodles Good for Allergies?

When people contact me to purchase a Schnoodle it seems that most of my customers are coming to me because they have heard that Schnoodles are good for allergies.    Although I cannot guarantee the results for each individual person, I can at least tell you that none of my customers have reported a problem with any of the puppies from my litters.  So I asked several of my customers to fill out a survey to give me some feedback about their experience with allergies and Schnoodles.  Here are the responses....

RESPONSE #1
1)  Do you or another family member have allergies to dogs.   If so is it an adult or child (age of child) 

 I do have allergies, but I have not had a problem with my Schnoodle.

]2)  What symptoms does the allergic individual normally have around the typical dog.  Please be as detailed as you are able.  

Mine is mostly nasal congestion and Sinus problems.

3)  What symptoms does the allergic individual experience around your Schnoodle dog from Growing Puppies?  (Please be as detailed as possible.  Or state none if there are no symptoms)

None

4)  Would you recommend a Schnoodle to a friend who as allergies?

Absolutely

5)  What other comments would you like to share with people that have allergies?

When my boys were growing up we had a poodle.  The allergist said that the dog isn't always the problem but that dust can be carried in the dogs fur.  I have not had any problems with Bear.

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RESPONSE #2

   Hi, Mary!  Hope you are doing well.  The answers to the survey questions are below.  George is continuing to be such an awesome puppy.  He completed 3 weeks of puppy obedience school, and is such a joy to be around!  The care you put into choosing the right kind of dogs to breed is very evident in George’s temperament and intelligence.

1.  1)  Do you or another family member have allergies to dogs.   If so is it an adult or child?   Yes; my 11-year-old son is allergic to dogs

2. What symptoms does the allergic individual normally have around the typical dog?  
 He breaks out in hives if certain dogs lick him; the dander of other dogs bothers him enough to cause hives.

3.  What symptoms does the allergic individual experience around your Schnoodle dog from Growing Puppies?  None!

4.   Would you recommend a Schnoodle to a friend who as allergies?  We would definitely recommend a Schnoodle

5.  What other comments would you like to share with people that have allergies?
 We have had no problems with allergies since we brought our Schnoodle home.  My son is able to roll around with him, cuddle with him, let him lick him, and have him in his bed without any allergic symptoms.

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 RESPONSE #3

 

We'd be glad to share with you our experience with our schnoodle, Ginger.  Our son is our allergic child.  He is 8 years old (he was 7 when we got Ginger).  His typical reaction to dogs of many different kinds was swelling/watering eyes, sneezing, extremely stuffy nose, sometimes hives and asthma attacks.  With Ginger, if he has any reactions at all, it has been much milder... like, an itchy eye and maybe a little stuffiness or sneezing.  But, even this has seemed to only happen with facial contact with her fur or saliva (when he wrestles or snuggles with her).  He doesn't seem to have any problems with her being in the house, on the furniture, or with petting her with his hands.  We have had better success by keeping her hair groomed on the shorter side and by brushing and bathing her regularly (I think this basically just helps with any environmental allergens/pollen that may attach to her fur when she's outside).  

We have loved Ginger!  She's been a lively and fun addition to our family, especially good at snuggling by the fireplace this time of year, and we feel like we've made no sacrifices on the allergy/health front either!

Thanks for contacting us!

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RESPONSE #4

1)  Do you or another family member have allergies to dogs? 

Adult.  I have allergies

2) What symptoms does the allergic individual normally have around the typical dog?

Typical symptoms are runny nose and watery eyes, which is generally made worse by being scratched.

3) What symptoms does the allergic individual experience around your Schnoodle?

I have not experienced any allergic symptoms around Wrigley and when I am around other dogs, I still have symptoms.

4) If you have allergic symptoms, what do you find helps reduce the symptoms?  N/A

5) Would you recommend a Schnoodle to a friend who as allergies?

Absolutely!  I picked this breed because I had a dog that I was allergic to my entire childhood.

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Thanks you to all of you who responded to this survey!  Please feel free to keep my updated on your experience with owning a Schnoodle especially as it relates to your allergies.  This information will help future people to know if a Schnoodle is good for them.

Woody Update!

I took this photo of Woody (Zoey's May 2017 litter) over the weekend and just wanted to share ❤️ He's adorable and has been an amazing family member since the day we brought him home!

Some updates from Crystals puppies

If you haven't joined our Growing Puppies Schnoodles page on Facebook, you really should.   All I ask is that if you are not one of my puppy customers that you refrain from posting your doggy photos.  This group is to share updates from our Schnoodle puppies for our customers or future customers. 

Anyway, I browsed the Facebook page and found a bunch of photo updates from Crystals litter and decided to share them now.

Below:
A re-schnunion of Schnoodle siblings - L-R: Asta (Winnie’s December ‘18 litter) Nigel and brother Lafitte (Crystal’s July ‘18 litter) - Lafitte is visiting the Barkshires for two weeks and they all play each evening w/ a very understanding older schnoodle buddy Ollie.

Asta (Winnie's litter),  Nigel (Crystals litter), and Lafitte (Crystal's litter) enjoy a play date in MA.

(Below) Don’t want to leave Ollie out of this schnoodle-canoodle!

Mushka

(Below)  Lilly in her Easter dress (Crystals litter) 

Lilly at 4 months old

(Below)  We are so grateful that the weather is finally warming up here in CT so we can take her out more. She is 5 months now and doing great. She’ll be graduating from her puppy class this week. She’s super smart and caught on very quickly. As you can see, she’s a happy puppy

Penny in CT

Ginny

Ginny at 7 months is the sweetest pup!  (Ginny lives in Ontario)

6 week Schnoodle Puppies - Crystals litter

   What is really amazing about the 6th week of a puppies life ...

is how playful they become.  Suddenly the puppies are all alive with energy and fun.  They are running around, eating puppy food, wrestling with one another and playing with toys. 

The puppies have entered the Litter Socialization stage where the puppies time together is super important.   They learn about puppy play and how to interact with one another.   People socialization is also important at this age, ...but the majority of their time is spent playing together.   We wouldn't want to take a puppy away from his litter at this age.  At this point they have finally reached the developmental. ability to have serious puppy play time, but it only lasts for a few weeks before they have to go home.

This week is the official "weaning of the litter" when Crystal has stopped nursing her puppies.  The puppies are now eating dry puppy food, and drinking well from a bowl. The puppies sharp teeth are coming in and they are teething. 

Crystal still likes to check up on her babies.   And when she enters the room to sniff them through the pen, I immediately know something is up.  From the other room I hear the high pitch squeals (and you would be amazed how loud those little lungs can squeal!)  and I am a sucker every time.  I think, "Oh oh!   Something is wrong!"   I run in to check on the litter, and there she is.   Crystal kissing her babies through the pen.   And the babies are screeching like the world is coming to an end!   Feed me!   Feed me!

You might have experienced this in your own life....its just kids being kids.  ....I am hungry mom.  I haven't eaten in years!.....  But child, you have a bowl full of food!....  I am not hungry for that food!    Ha ha!    Babies are Babies folks.    So Mom sees that the kids are doing fine and goes back to her business and the puppies go back to playing and forget that they were starving just one minute before.  The nursery becomes peaceful once more.   It is pretty funny!

But I know you are waiting for to see photos!!!   So enough of the chatter.  Here are the puppies...looking like little angels.

4 week Old Crystal Puppies

Crystals puppies

Tobias 

           Can you believe how much these little Schnoodle puppies grow in just one week!   Last week they were barely walking and now they are very sturdy on their feet!    This week begins the critical social time when they are learning to socialize with other puppies.   Play fighting is how they play.   They growl and bite (with toothless bites!)  and climb on one another.   They can even sound agressive in their pathetic little way....but it is all very innocent puppy play.   It is like slow motion really, since they are still not super agile.
 
            This week the Schnoodle puppies awake time is increasing but the majority of their day is still spent sleeping or eating.   Mom is not nursing them as often as she did when they were younger.   So it is a good time to start them on Puppy food, wet into soft mush.   Their teeth are just starting to come in, so they are not ready for dry food just yet.

              I will post more everyday photos when I am able.   This is the last litter until the summer.   If you are ready for a spring Schnoodle Puppy, there are only few puppies still available.  See my website for  Available Puppies

Henry

2.5 week old Crystal puppies

Crystal's Boys:

I waited to take the puppies two week photos until their eyes were completely open.   This is such a big week for our little babies!   Their eyes open and they gain better focus every day.  Their ears are also opening and suddenly they are able to investigate the world around them!   Of course that always means they are climbing out of the Puppy Pool.    So I move them to a Puppy Pen as soon as they hit the 2 week mark.

The puppies have no teeth yet, and are still nursing exclusively.   The bulk of their day is spent sleeping with little awake times when they practice walking and strengthening their neck and legs.  We have to hold them up for their photos because they would otherwise put their chins on the blanket.  And look how precious are those sweet little faces!   They just get cuter every day, and we wonder if that is even possible!

Tobias - Green collar

Henry - blue collar

The Girls:

Bijou, Bon Bon and Lily

Bijou

Bon Bon

Lily

Crystals 2 Week puppies

Woody in the Winter Wonderland!

Such a beautiful photo from one of our Schnoodle families!

1 week Crystal puppies -

1 week puppies are growing so fast!!!

Crystal puppies are born!

We have happy news!   Crystal whelped her litter of puppies on Sunday afternoon.  And since some births deserve to have the story told, I will share with you how it began.

First of all let me give you a bit of background.   After years of whelping litters I can pretty readily read the signs that one of my dogs is getting close to delivery.    The most obvious signs are nesting behaviors, like scratching the floor, trying to nest in a couch, under a bed....or behind a chair.   This can start a few days before the actual whelping begins.   But usually when the dog is very close to her time, her whole demeanor changes.  She is more clingy and wants to be in the same room as me, or follow me about.   This can be a problem, in that I don't want her to be in any area of the house where she could suddenly slip away and hide under a bed or in a closet and start her whelping.  But it is also very helpful, because with her clinging to me, I can see the minute she starts to act differently.

So as it happened, Crystals due date was only a few days away, and she did not show any of the usual nesting behavior.    The only sign I got was on Saturday night when Crystal did not want to follow me up to my room.  All my pregnant dogs sleep in my room when they are waiting to give birth.  And they are happy to be there.   But when Crystal wouldn't come to me, I knew she must not bet feeling well, and I carefully lifted her up and carried her to my room.   I fully expected to see whelping begin that night.....but instead she was very quiet with hardly any nesting or restlessness.

The next morning, which was Sunday, Crystal followed me down the stairs and out to the backyard as if it was a normal day.   That calmness made me feel comfortable leaving her to attend Church in the morning.   I felt it important to go early, as I new things could change over the next few hours.   Before I left I put Crystal in a pen with her bed to keep her as safe as possible until I returned.

When I got home, Crystal looked quite well.   I had hoped to keep her close to me, but she wanted to be in the basement rec room next to my 9 year old son while he played his video games.  I already know my kids cannot read the signs of whelping...so I was calling down the stairs often to check on her status.   "Where is Crystal....Next to you....Ok how does she look. "   "Mom, she looks fine!"  So it is kind of funny, that Crystal was acting so normal....but somehow I knew the time was near..

 After several minutes of checking her status, I decided to answer an email in the adjoining room where I could listen out for any scratching or digging that would signal a change.   And it is quite commonplace that while I work at my computer I hear squeals of  joy or frustration from my son as he plays his games.   But the sudden squeal that I heard as I typed away,  was nothing usual.  I couldn't tell if it was dog or child.   I froze for a moment trying to process it and in the next split second was rising from my chair when my son came running through the doorway yelling, "Crystal had a puppy!"  "Oh my Goodness!" I thought, "That was fast!"   And sure enough there it was.  A puppy born on the video game chair!"   (Thankfully its a large chair that lays flat on the floor and actually a pretty harmless spot to whelp a puppy!)

I rushed over and hovered over Crystal as she continued to clean up the newborn.  My little boy was so helpful.  He rushed about corralling the dogs into their crates.   It wasn't such an easy task.  The dogs new something was afoot and they were trying to push their noses past me to check out the newcomer.   I called to my husband to help me and as soon as the umbilical cord was cut, he carried the baby upstairs.   I followed close behind, having wrapped Crystal in a towel to carry her to the whelping pool in my master bathroom.

The rest of the story was peaceful and uneventful.   All the puppies came at 15 minute intervals as smoothly as any puppy can be born.   The total number of births were as follows:  3 girls and 2 boys!  What a joy that it all went so smooth and easy for Crystal!

When I shared the birth story with one of my customers she intuitively knew the first born was a boy.   "Of course it was a boy", she said, "Boys love video games!"










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Fun Memories!

We found this photo in our phone from last year.   We were packing for a trip and someone didn't want to be forgotten....

Valentines day Schnoodle Puppies!

Who needs chocolate and roses?  This Valentines day give your sweetheart the gift of Puppy Love!   

Lexus at 6.5 weeks

And just in time for Valentines day, Marshmallows has a litter with 3 female Schnoodle puppies that are still available for sale!    These Schnoodle puppies were born on Christmas Eve.   They will be ready to go home on Feb 16.  We are located in Fredericksburg, VA.

UPDATE:  These puppies are all sold.  There are just a few females remaining from FantasyPups winter litters.   See available puppies page.

Puppy Love! - Memories

I miss those day when my kids use to curl up with our puppies.  My son had just said to me, "Mom they think I am their mommy!"

REVIEWS of Best Selling Potty Trays

As any of my long time blog readers know, I raise my puppies using the Ugodog Potty tray.   I find these to be the most practical puppy potty system that I know of.

The Advantages of the Ugodog potty tray include the following:

1) Bacteria Free – our indoor dog potty system has a unique plastic design that makes daily clean up easy and of course, keeps it bacteria free. Pee Pads may leak and artificial grass products are difficult to clean so bacteria can flourish.

2) Easy To Clean – the two grate system in the UGODOG dog potty system can be cleaned with a wet town or in a sink (how easy is that!). Compared to pee pads (which dogs can shred) and grass dog pottys (which require a hose and scrubbing to clean), there’s just no easier indoor dog potty system than the UGODOG product.


3) Cost Effective – because the UGODOG indoor dog potty is created with the highest quality materials it will last so you would most likely only purchase it once. With 2 sizes to choose from, the prices range from $49.95 to $99.95. You probably didn’t know that the average dog owner spends about $400.00 per year on pee pads and that the average cost for a grass indoor dog potty product is about $150.00. Compare these costs to the UGODOG indoor dog potty and it’s a no brainer!

4) Dry Paws – The unique convex shaped grates in the UGODOG dog potty product allows urine to pass through the grates and it then collects in the base so your dog’s paws remain dry. It’s easy to see that with pee pads and with the artificial grass potty systems, that simply is not the case. So, keep your dog from tracking urine throughout the house!

OUT OF STOCK:Unfortunately the UGO DOG is currently not available from Amazon or the Manufacturer.   I spoke the the UGODOG company today and they said they are currently out of stock and are not producing the UGODOG potty trays right now.  They said they would contact me when they are making them again.

In the mean time, we have to find an alternative Potty tray for my customers....   It is Winter and there are going to be times when because of rain, snow or extreme cold, it is not possible for your puppy to go outside to the potty.   I HIGHLY recommend that you have a potty tray alternative for your puppy.
Below are my reviews of the Potty Trays available on Amazon.   Please visit my Growing Puppies Webpage for actual links to the Potty Tray.   Purchasing them through the links provided helps pay me for my time in creating Blog Posts like these.

#1)   BLYSS PETS Clean Paws Potty Tray.   

PRICE: $28.95.   Size: 21.5 X 15.5 X 1.25

I own two of these trays.   I don't like them as much as the Ugodog because they ar a bit small.   I feel a miniature size puppy needs more room to circle around and do his business.   The tray can be a bit hard to snap off sometimes.   The small grate holes are harder to clean than the Ugodog grate.  Overall it is not as easy to clean as the Ugodog.   But since there are no Ugodogs on the market right now....this is the next best thing.



#2  PetTyme Grand Potty Toilet.  $104.90

Size  40 X 28 X 2

I like this Potty Tray because it is a nice big size..   At $104.90 it is a bit expensive, which is why I rate it as second place.   The large size is an advantage for your pet to have room to circle about at potty time.   The large size is going to be a disadvantage at cleaning time.  It is harder to soak the tray...you may want to use the bathtub for that.   Nonetheless, if I was planning to use a Potty Tray for more than just a few months....I would buy this potty tray for the nice big size alone.



#3  Pet Maker Puppy Potty Trainer Artificial Grass Bathroom Mat  $22.13

Size 20 X 25 X 1.25

I like the price of this potty tray.  I like the size as well.   But I do not like the artificial grass.   The grass is a mess to clean.  It harbors bacteria and odor.  You have to soak the grass once a week in bleach water, and then it takes a long time to dry.   I do not recommend this potty system because it is too much work to clean.  You will definitely prefer a potty tray that is easy to clean like the potty trays above.  It is the best seller on Amazon, so you may want to try it for yourself.  But I think people buy it because it is cheap and the grass is a gimic that they think will fool the puppy.   I personally think any grass system potty tray is a clean up problem.

Potty Training a Puppy with a Potty Tray in the Winter

1)  When you bring your puppy home keep him in his pen with the Potty tray for the first few weeks so he has no option but to continue using a potty tray.  You can still play with him outside his pen....but only with supervision and after he has relieved himself,   

2)   Keep a potty tray next to the puppy at night time since he will need to go potty at night for the first few months.    Once the puppy is holding his bladder through the night, you can take him outside to potty each morning....or alternatively move the potty tray near the back door and  take him to the potty tray to go potty.

3)  Leave the potty tray near the door where the puppy will be going out to potty.   Put your puppy on the 8 week Potty Training Schedule...but take the puppy to the potty tray every time it is time to go potty wait.  When he starts to potty say "Go Potty" and then give him a treat.  After the puppy has gone pee, wait for him to poop.   

When you are not at home you can put your puppy back in his pen with the Potty tray.  I have found that after a few months the puppy won't use the potty tray in his pen anymore.  He will cry to come out of his pen when he needs to use the potty.  So if you are at work, enlarge the puppies pen so he has more space to sleep farther from his potty tray.  

4)  As the puppy gains bladder control, the puppy will also be developing a habit to go to the potty tray on his own.  In bad weather you will be so glad you have a suitable option for your puppy. 

5) When the weather is warmer in the Spring, you can start taking your puppy on leash past the potty tray, through the door and out to the outdoor spot that suits you.  Tell your puppy to go potty and treat him.  Place the potty tray just outside the door and let him smell it, so he realizes that it is now outside.   Let him run past the potty tray for several weeks so he will know to run to his new spot.  

6) As your puppy bladder matures and he can hold his bladder long enough to be fully reliable with the outdoor potty spot, you can remove the tray altogether.   You may want to hold onto it for the next winter.