If you have followed our blog very long you may remember "Ike" son of Rayne and Myles. Ike is turning out more and more like his dad with every update I see.

We are still accepting deposits for this litter and Sage and Robin.

With all the planets aligned as they should be, we can expect Sage and Robin's litter by the end of July.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Hi Penny,

Just wanted to send you a quick update about Gracyie while she was taking a nap. She is potty trained & become very independent but still likes to cuddle once in awhile. She has learned to sit & shake. We are now working on retrieving! Went to the vet last weekend she weighs 16.2 & she is just growing to fast. We have had a lot of compliments about her. People just have never heard of a Charcoal Lab before. Thank you again for bring happiness back in our home & hearts.

Shannon & Family

Here are a few pics of Kimber and Charlee.  Kimber definitely is a brave little soul who kept trying to get closer to Charlee even though she was upset and jealous (she is still mad at mom).  But she is very protective of her and if they go when its dark, Charlee waits for her to finish before she comes in.  Charlee really barked after a dog came in and growled at the group.Charlee is a beautiful Weimaraner

Kimber has slowly tried to sneak next to charlee so she could lay by her or on top of her (Charlee has been very accepting of this) and one of the picks is Kimber enjoying her first frosty paw (which she absolutely loved until what appeared to be that she got a brain freeze).  I will send more soon!!

Hi Penny,
Just had to share this adorable photo of my new best friend.

I love him so much! He is very entertaining. :)
Take care,Winchester aka Cooper
-Cathy

Hey Penny,

I thought I'd give you an update on how Cinder is adapting to her new home. She has been doing great with potty training and everybody loves her. We went to the vet and she did great! She was so calm with a half a dozen dogs there and she fell asleep on the counter while I was paying the bill.

She only whined for 5 minutes the first night in the crate, and she actually slept all the way through the night on the third night here! She already had mastered "sit, down, and shake" before she was 8 weeks and she plays fetch too!

We want to thank you again for everything. You and Joel take good care of your dogs and puppies, and we would love to get a white lab from you guys in the future! Hope all is well!

Ryan & Jamie

We have learned that traveling by air with your puppy in the cabin with you is by far the best way to go. Winchester's mom flew from Georgia to Iowa to meet us at the airport. She had the biggest smile on her face as she walked toward us with her soft kennel in hand ready to love on her new sweet boy. We could not stay once they entered security but she was prepared with her collapsible water container, toys, puppy pads, and a little kibble. The flight was delayed but her and Winchester won the hearts of all in the airport. If Winchester had traveled a week later he would never have fit in the soft kennel:) There was a zipper top and when his mom unzipped it he popped his head out like it was a convertible. A sweet journey and one Winchester's mom will not soon forget. We have so much admiration for our parents and the extent they go to make sure their new family members arrive safe to begin life in their forever homes. As always, it brings a tear or two to our eyes to say so long. Thanks to all our parents for a wonderful experience of unconditional love and joy for purebred Labradors.  

So now that all parents have made final choices...we have one silver boy available. Tug is available! It was tough for our parents to make decisions as this entire litter is so similar in size, demeanor and looks. But we knew one boy would be left and Tug is now available for his new home.

This little 4 week old charmer could not have snuggled up any quicker or closer to Shannon. To watch her pick up her puppy she had waited so long to hold and love was very moving. The morning turned in to the afternoon in a flash. They have chosen to keep little Graycie's name and in a few weeks they will return to bring her forever home.

Bless you Shannon and Mike for your patience, your faith in Silver Cave and you unconditional love for your family.

Today was the first milk moments for he three week old pups. They all eventually got to the bowl and managed to get pretty milky. Some enjoyed more than others as paws entered the bowl at times. I was very pleased with how well they took to the milk bowl.

Our first puppy parents came to visit today. Pidge was very receptive and they were able to watch her nurse the pups, hold many of them, and even see them stand up and walk across to Mom in the whelping box. We look forward to our next visitors for Pidge to showcase her crew.

As you see here she is as close to me as possible in the office today. I do love her close so I can watch the little gremlins move about when she is resting.

It is a cold, icy day here so it's the perfect weather to cook and get final preparations ready for whelping. I am boiling whole chicken to supplement for Pidge after whelping. I have checked my whelping list and filled in a few things I needed. When I review my list of items I am humbled by what our Mammas do instinctively. We are there to make them more comfortable and assist when we need to, but they are far more knowledgeable than we are. We prepare for the unexpected, and give our Mammas and babies the healthiest beginning possible. 

Whelping Supplies:

We will welcome puppies this week for certain. I'm taking a guess that Pidge will have 6 puppies. We opted not to do an x-ray this time. My husband is guessing 8. If you would like to play or give us name ideas please visit our Fabebook page and let us know what you think!

Will we have Valentine puppies?