Cavies, Doodles and Poo: 2016

Happy Birthday, Bitsy!

Bitsy, and her 10 siblings are three years old today.

Danica and ALL the puppies

Raven the CavaDoodle

Raven has taken over her father's favorite sleeping spot.

DIY Cabinet Style Dog Kennel

My wonderful husband built this awesome dog kennel in a few hours on Saturday afternoon.

He used 2x4s for the frame, fence wire, and some scrap oak pieces to cover the edges of the wire on the inside of the kennel. The countertop, though not my favorite color, was scavenged from a demolition project at his work place, so beggers can't be choosers! One of these days I'll paint the kennel, and post another picture.

Constructed from 2x4 frame, fence wire, and oak trim on the inside.
It's 72" inches long by 24" deep.
It's also free standing, and can be moved.

The door is 18x25

A close up of how the walls are constructed.
Wire fencing is sandwiched between 2x4 and some oak trim.

The dogs have settled in nicely. They love to cuddle up together, so this is perfect for them. It also gives them room to move around if we have to kennel them during the day. This cabinet takes up less room than the three wire kennels we used before, and I get another counter to put junk on!

See more kennels and pens HERE.

Training Puppies To Not Bite

I had an email from someone who took home one of our pups. She was concerned about what appeared to be aggressive behaviour. In spite of having lots of chew toys, her puppy still tries to nip them. I responded that this is pretty normal behaviour for an eight week old puppy, and sent some information I found on line. You can read it HERE.

But the next day, I happened to be in the kennel area with the two puppies we still have, and their mom, Bitsy, decided to join us. She allowed the two puppies to nurse for a couple of minutes before deciding that was enough. But she didn't leave; she stayed around to visit, and I was able to observe how she dealt with them. When a puppy tried to nurse, she gave a little growl, then put her mouth right over his nose. Then she let go, and started licking him and being playful. She repeated this several times.

Today, the same thing happened, but I also saw her doing a little more. When a puppy got too rambunctious, she again used her mouth, but also her paws. She got him down on his back and held him there. She's firm, but gentle, clearly letting the pup know she's the boss.

I managed to capture some of this on video.

In this video she's being playful, but again, she puts the puppy in his place. It almost sounds like she is saying, "No!" when he tries to get up.

Nipping and chewing are definitely normal eight week old puppy behaviour, but they do need to be taught that toys are for chewing, not us! The best way to do this, is to do what Bitsy does...show them who's boss. When your puppy bites, you can gently, but firmly hold his nose and say, "No!" Then pet him and cuddle him to let him know you're not upset. When he gets too rambunctious, hold him down on his back, and make him stay there. You need to be the alpha dog, and he needs to submit to you. Then let him up and be playful. Repeat this as often as is necessary for him to get the message.

Having this extra time with just two puppies has been interesting. I'm starting to see the benefits of the puppies staying with the mother a little longer than eight weeks. However, those benefits might not be there if all six puppies were still here. In the past few days, Bitsy has been spending much more time in the pen with these two puppies than she was when they were all here. With just two, she's able to have more control, and to teach them. Maybe the reason Bitsy is such a good dog is because she was able to grow up here with her mother. Having an older dog around to show a pup the ropes is definitely helpful, and takes some of the training off the owners hands!

I hope this helps anyone who is dealing with a little nipper!

Puppy to Adult Changes

I wanted to try to show the differences and similarities between the purebred Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, the Goldendoodles, and the Cavadoodles, and also the changes from puppy to adult. The Cavalier coat is very similar to the Golden Retriever, both having fringe on their legs, hindquarters, and tails. The Ruby Cavalier color is also very similar to our Goldendoodle's coat. Cavaliers, Golden retrievers, and Poodles all have beautiful, long ears. The Poodle has a very slender build, while the Cavalier and Retriever are much stockier. The Cavadoodle can have a slender, longer legged build, or the stocky, shorter legged look. Where the major differences show up is in the texture of the coat. They can range from smooth to fluffy, or shaggy. Because the Poodle is diluted, they are unlikely to be very curly, but you never know how the genetics are going to come together!

Daisy is an F1 Mini Goldendoodle.

Her father is a red Miniature Poodle, and her mother is a Golden Retriever.

Red is miniature poodle. He is Daisy's father.
He is 13 inches at the back and 13 lbs.

This is Daisy's mom from the breeder's page.
She's 59 lbs, and 22 1//2 inches high at the back.

We bred Daisy with Chico, a black Miniature Poodle. Their puppies are called F1b Mini Goldendoodles. (technically, 75 % poodle, 25 % retriever, but the genetics can come together in a variety of ways!)

Daisy, F1 Mini Goldendoodle,
& Chico, Miniature Poodle

Daisy, at 3 months old

Bitsy is one of Daisy and Chico's puppies. She is black, with a little white on her neck, and was the runt of the litter. She is now 14 lbs. and 13 inches at the back, full grown.

Bitsy, F1b Mini Goldendoodle puppy
Showing some curl early on.
Parents- Red F1 Goldendoodle, Daisy
Black Miniature Poodle, Chico

Bitsy, F1b Mini Goldendoodle, 2 1/2 yrs
Her coat is a mix of soft curl, and shaggy,
with lots of reddish-brown on her face.

Bitsy is one of eleven puppies. These are just two of her siblings. These pictures show how different puppies from the same litter can be. There is also one with a smooth, cream coat, another much like Crinkle, and the rest are black; one more brown toned, another more grey, and all with a variety of coat textures.

Crinkle
F1b Mini Goldendoodle
Fluffy coat as a puppy.

Crinkle
F1b mini Goldendoodle
Beautiful 'crinkle' coat adult.

Maru
F1b Mini Goldendoodle
Showed lots of curl from the start.

Maru
F1b Goldendoodle
Adult coat has very tight curls.

2 more siblings from this litter.
Very different coats in texture and color.

Avalie, Harley, and Jet are pure bred, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

Avalie, Blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Harley, Ruby Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Jet, tan & black
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

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These are some of our puppy pictures; Cavaliers, Goldendoodles, and Cavadoodles. I hope they help show the variety of coats that are possible with CavaDoodles, and why it's difficult to say in the first 8 weeks.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Purebred Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
Parents-Avalie & Harley,
Coats are relatively smooth, but a little fluffy.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Puppy
(Parents- Avalie & Harley)
Fairly smooth coat as a puppy.

Jasper,
one of our CKC Spaniels grown up.
Coat is long and wavy, and he
looks like his father.

Two CavaDoodle puppies from Daisy and Harley,
with a very different look as adults.
Because Daisy is an F1 Mini Goldendoodle, she is 1/2 Golden Retriever. Some of her puppies got far bigger than either parent...one is over 50 lbs!

Cooper 1 year. (Parents Daisy & Harley)
50% Cavalier, 25% Poodle
25% Golden retriever
The retriever seemed to come through in his size,
but you can see Cavalier in his face.

CavaDoodle puppy (Cooper)
Parents- Daisy, F1 Goldendoodle, &
Harley, Ruby Cavalier
Smooth coat.

Cavadoodle, Ruby, about 6 months
(Parents Daisy & Harley)

50% Cavalier, 25% Poodle

25% Golden retriever

Looks like Goldendoodle mom.
Fringe grows as they get older.

CavaDoodle, Ruby
Parents- Daisy, F1 Goldendoodle, &

Harley, Ruby Cavalier

Smooth coat.

Three Golden CavaDoodle Puppies from Bitsy and Harley,

also with very different looks.

Because Bitsy is an F1b Goldendoodle, with more poodle than retriever, it's a little easier to estimate the size of her pups, but again, the puppies ended up taller than either parent.

The Golden Retriever genes seem to be very strong!

Dexter as a puppy. CavaDoodle.
Somewhat fluffy coat, but no curl.
Parents-Bitsy,black F1b Goldendoodle
& Harley, RubyCavalier

Dexter grown up has a smooth coat.
He looks a lot like his goldendoodle grandma, Daisy,
You can also see Cavalier,
but not much of his mother, Bitsy.
(50% Cavalier, 37.5% Poodle, 13.5% G.Retriever,
but genetics don't really work that way!)

Brit, Cavadoodle
Parents, Bitsy-Black Goldendoodle
Harley- Ruby Cavalier
Her coat was fluffy, and wavy,
with lots of brown showing


Brit grown up Her coat is very fluffy, and shades of brown, Her face has the cavalier look, but goldendoodle comes through in her coat. (50% Cavalier, 37.5% Poodle, 3.5% G.Retriever, Again,genetics don't really work that way)

Silver, CavaDoodle as a puppy.
Slightly fluffy,
Parents, Bitsy, black Goldedoodle
Harley, Ruby Cavalier

Silver, grown up.
Beautiful Cavalier eyes, and long hair,
but longer nose.

I hope this helps understand the variations in coats, and how they change from puppy to adult. For me, the coat is not the most important thing to look at, unless allergies are an issue. The personality is far more important when choosing a dog that will be part of your life for many years. We have heard back from many of our puppy owners, and when they describe their dogs, they all have the same sweet, affectionate temperament.

For more pictures and info, visit our Pinterest pages:

F1b Mini Goldedoodles

Miniature Golden Retrievers (Golden CavaDoodles)

CavaDoodles