I've had a few questions on how puppy pick order is established and why I do things the way I do.  Here is the "why" behind it :)
When we breed one of our females I announce it on our website and/or facebook page.  A waiting list is generated from those that are interested in the upcoming litter.  Once pregnancy is confirmed the spots for first male and first female are opened up and deposits will be accepted.  These are the only 2 deposits that I will accept before the puppies are born.  There is no way to tell what the gender of the puppies will be and I wouldn't want take a deposit on 3 females to have 1 when they arrive.

When the puppies are born and gender is confirmed deposits are taken for the remaining puppies.  The order that deposits are received determines the pick order for the puppies. I contact those on the waiting list to see if they are still interested and ready to put down a deposit to hold their puppy.
Rather than pick out puppies at birth I have the families wait until the puppies are around 5 weeks old.  By this age the puppy's personality is starting to show and families are able to make a better choice on which puppy would fit their family dynamic best.  The families are invited out to visit and interact with the puppies and the mother.  During the weeks prior to this visit I am taking notes and watching the puppies to see who is calm, energetic, confident, playful etc so that I can help you pick out the puppy that has the traits you are looking for.  I have had people think they would pick one puppy based off of photos and then when they meet the puppies they are drawn to another instead. I like to say the puppy can sometime pick you!  I want to do everything I can to ensure you end up with the perfect puppy for you and your family!

It only took her about 3 hours to deliver all 8 puppies and then she took a much deserved rest.  She's very protective of her puppies and doesn't like to leave them at all.   It took a little convincing at first to get her to go eat, drink and use the bathroom.  Over the last few days though she's learning they will still be there when she returns and that it's ok for her to get up and walk around for a little while! 

I love the different color variations in these little guys.  We have 4 boys and 4 girls in this litter!  Looking forward to watching them grow and explore the world around them!

The little guys are almost 2 weeks old and about half are starting the process opening their eyes.  It takes a few days for them to fully open and then a little bit after that for their vision to catch up.  It's an exciting time in our household!  To my girls it means the puppies are getting older and getting closer to walking and running around!  They can't wait for the "puppy waterfall", as we call it, when you open the door to their pen and they all come spilling out on top of one another.  They little guys aren't so little any more and are about to graduate to their big pup bed!  They are becoming more active and moving around their little bed looking for mom now (they can smell or sense when she is in the room eating, but not in bed with them!).  They are getting more vocal as well and make an almost chirping sound to one another.

We had a surprising afternoon on 1/9/20, Autumn had her first puppy at 2:30pm.  She usually waits until night or early morning (probably because it's quiet and my girls are in bed!) but today she chose right after lunch to begin! 

Here are the first three, born within an hour of each other.  She labored well and it only took about 4 hours for all 11 puppies to be born.  All healthy, wriggly, and latching well!

The puppies range in size from 9.14 oz to 11.7 oz, and we have 6 girls and 5 boys.  Can't wait to watch their little puppy bellies grow and they nurse and sleep all day long!  You wouldn't think it, but newborn puppies are surprisingly loud with their snorts, snuffles and mews.

This little girl was the first one born and I love the white markings on her chest!

Our morning started bright and early as Autumn went into labor around 6am.  Four hours later she was the proud mama of 10 new healthy pups!  Everything was smooth and easy, she didn't need me at all - the best kind of labor!  Mama and pups are resting now but I snuck of photo of them while I was changing out her whelping bedding.  They are the cutest little things and predominately red in color this time. Can't wait for the weeks to come with them!

This beautiful lady is expecting her next litter of pups the week prior to Thanksgiving! 
I took her into the vet last week to confirm her pregnancy and check her health.  She is perfectly healthy and looking great according to the vet and then even better we were able to confirm she is pregnant (and not just getting thick around the middle)!  I felt like a proud grandma seeing her little pups on the screen, it's amazing what technology allows us to do and Autumn was so patient with it!  
So now we are just keeping her healthy by going on walks, upping her nutrition to prepare her for whelping and soon we'll break out the whelping bed for her to 'nest in' and get her scent on it. 
What a perfect time of year for this!  I love the fall anyway, and any excuse to get outside and talk more walks is perfect with me!  Plus it's not so hot for her as she gets larger and larger :)  
I can't wait to see her little pups and snuggle them as they get older.  

Belly rubs for the pregnant mama!  I think my girls are more excited than I am that we are going to have puppies again.  They ask everyday how large I think the puppies are now in Autumn's belly and when are they going to come out? 

If you'd like to find out more about Autumn or her pups, or to be placed on our waiting list please let me know!

Maisey had her first trip to the groomer today!  She's only 4 1/2 months old so we did not do a full groom, it was more to get her familiar with it while she is still young.  We did a mini groom/puppy trim and are very pleased with it!  Her 'bangs' were so long before I wasn't sure how she was able to see, now we can see her eyes. 
She apparently did NOT like the dryer, hopefully she will acclimate to it in the future.  They used a hand held blow dryer on her instead and she was fine with that.  As you can see we are loving her being so clean, soft and fluffy! 
Autumn thought she smelled a little funny when she got home and kept trying to lick her and wrestle with her. They calmed down now and are enjoying their toys!

Our Maisey from Autumn's last litter.  Here she is at 4 months old and looking like a teddy bear!  She's about 14lbs now, so she should be right around the 30 lbs mark when she is full grown!  We are having fun with her and she is so sweet with my daughter.

They are getting so big!  I can't believe how much they have grown in the last 3 weeks.  They are starting to sit up and walk around, attempting to climb on things and each other.  They will only get more active from here!

This little guy (Blitzen) gets the Intrepid Puppy of the Day Award!  He was the first to figure out how to climb over the mama gate in their big puppy bed.  I did not expect them to be able to figure it out so quickly.  So far he is the only one to do it and the only other one to try right now is Comet (yellow collar).  Blitzen's personality is great, he seems very smart and loves to cuddle!

Donner (Tan Collar) has no shame!  This little girl has already mastered the doodle-pose at 3 weeks.  She is very laid back, as you can tell!

This sweet face belongs to Rudolph (blue collar).  She had just finished exploring their new pen when I was changing out their bed box and worked her way to the top of the pile of her brother and sisters.  Though she is small, she is mighty!

The puppies are 2 weeks old today and have outgrown their whelping pool.   It was time for the Big Boy Bed!  Autumn is quite excited about it because she can stretch out and the puppies can nurse easier.  She even has room for her favorite bone now!

Someone else was really excited about the new puppy bed.  My daughter went in to put her baby to sleep, since the puppies were sleeping.  She thinks the protective rails for the puppies are a seat just for her! (Just a note - she is only allowed in the room when I am there and she is a very gentle child)

Their eyes are opening now!  This face just melts me.  We were getting some puppy snuggles when changing out the bed and working on our handling/bio training for the day.