Puppies Are Here

Noli gave birth to 8 healthy, strong puppies through the night Monday. Here is the breakdown of colors and genders:

• 1 yellow female
• 2 yellow males
• 2 black females
• 3 black males

All the yellow puppies are white/cream just like their dad. Miles doesn’t know he is a dad, as a perpetual happy-go-lucky boy, but Noli is a wonderful first-time mom.

We expect puppies to go home the second weekend of June. A few are reserved but we still have some available. Contact us if you have any questions or want to reserve one!

Any Minute!

Noli is getting big and getting ready for puppies. She doesn’t seem uncomfortable and is taking it all in stride, enjoying a little extra pampering (and extra food portions).

Our count is an estimate but according to our figuring we will probably puppies on the ground by tomorrow. Yayyyy, puppies!

Spring Puppies

Noli and Miles are having puppies! This will be Noli’s first litter. She is half sister’s with Naia and Savvy is her mom. So if you have loved puppies from our other girls, these are related and have the same genetics.

This pretty girls is sweet, attentive, loves scratches and pets and her bed. She is a good retriever and excellent walking on a leash.

Miles is his same old playful, silly self. They both loved their Easter baskets and have a newfound love for apples. They even know the word “apple” and perk up if you say it.

Both dogs are midsized, so we expect medium-build puppies.

The litter is due around April 21, which puts puppies ready to go home around the 2nd weekend of June. We are expecting a mixture of black and yellow pups. So exciting!

Contact us if you have any questions or would like to reserve one.

Happy Beginnings

One of our favorite parts of raising our puppies is seeing them off to their new lives successfully.

In all the fun and chaos of selecting puppies and going over all the info, we didn’t get photos of everyone. But Rich and Addie enjoyed meeting everyone.

Back at home, the rest of us got photos and a report after nearly every appointment: who went home with who, how it went, great impressions of the families.

When we have heard about your last dog, your family, how you plan to take your dog to work or work from home with your new puppy or have a mother-in-law or dog sitter lined up, along with your cat and kids and hiking trips and soccer games…. and then we send our babies to their forever homes with you, you become family.

Whether you are starting your journey with Red River Retrievers or coming back for your 2nd or 3rd, we feel confidant that every single one of our puppies has gone home to an amazing life.

Meeting everyone is the icing on the cake of each “puppy season.” While we don’t covet the long drive, those of us at home who only get to hear about it second hand are a little envious of the one who get to send them off.

We love hearing about how the family introductions are going, how nighttime and house training are working out, etc. We love getting snapshots of the puppies’ new lives.

We have heard from most everyone, and things seem to be going well. Lots of sweet cuddles and shenanigans.

Our house seems a little quiet, but we are snuggling our big babies a lot more again, which they like.

We are also enjoying a crazy Artic blast down here in the South. The dogs think snow is great fun. Naia tries to catch every snowball!

Snuggle up with your fur babies, stay warm, and send us an update from time to time.

Happy Ending for us. Happy Beginning to you!

End of Litter Discount

We are offering a discounted adoption rate for the last few puppies of the litter so that they can go to their forever homes and begin the important bonding with their new families, at the same time as their litter-mates.

If the cost was a concern or you know someone still on the fence, now might be a good time to decide to bring home a sweet Lab.

Not Just A Dog

Puppies are cute and cuddly and make for great photo ops. But of course we all know, they grow into so much more.

Savvy is Ben’s best pal and also goes to work with Rich as a therapy dog for the students he works with, when she is not busy with puppies.

She also makes a great hiking partner and farm dog, enjoying the exertion, sticking close when she can be off-leash.

Our dogs are also hunt retrievers who enjoy retrieving upland game and waterfowl. They don’t mind the cold when retrieveing dozens of ducks and geese.

They like to run free on the farm but also stick close during outdoor projects.

Miles got his first taste of a pheasant hunt last winter. He did a great job on some tricky retrieves and was steady in between.

A Lab can be a best friend, a hunting retriever, AND a therapy dog, because attentiveness, intelligence, and eagerness to please are the underlying foundation of all three.

In addition, our dogs, and Labs in general are great with kids.

If its time to find a new best friend (or hunting partner, therapy dog, emotional support animal, or hiking partner), let us know! We still have a few available.

Merry, Merry

The puppies are loving having the run of the family room for playtime! Exploring, running, and discovering their new toys.

Like any animal (or person) developing healthy attachment, they explore from the safe base of the people they trust. That means they come check in in a lap or some kisses and ear scratches before going out exploring again.

If you have a reservation, stay tuned for an email from us soon. If you are considering a puppy and have any questions, get in touch with us!

Christmas Babies!

The puppies are 5 weeks old and sweeter than ever. They are playing and tumbling and snuggling, and their personalities are beginning to emerge here and there.

As they grow, their coat colors darken a bit. Some are tuening more yellow than white now, but others have remaind the white-cream shade.

We have enough to go around and more for friends who visit and want a puppy fix.

4 Weeks

The picture is worth a thousand words. The puppies are finally starting to look like real puppies at 4 weeks of age! Soft and sweet and adorable!

Christmas Adoption Kits

We know that there’s nothing more exciting than a new puppy on Christmas morning. But for the puppy, all the packages and wrapping and extra folks coming and going can be a pretty overwhelming transition. If that’s when puppies are ready for adoption there’s probably no lasting harm in starting with all the hullabaloo and hubbub, but when the chips fall so the calendar dates don’t line up for Christmas morning, we are actually a little relieved for the puppies’ sakes.

The transition away from their litter and mom into a new home is a big one for a puppy, full of new sensory information to take in. The new sounds, sights, and smells, and the lack of their comforting pile of litter mates causes some stress, even in the most placid of scenarios.

Puppies are ready to go to their new homes around 8 weeks of age. Ours will be 6 weeks at Christmas. If you are looking for a puppy as a Christmas surprise, we have adoption gift boxes available to wrap up and put under the tree for Christmas morning. The kit includes an adoption certificate, collar, dog toy, photo, and some treats. You can add to the fun by purchasing the recommended supplies from our list of suggestions to prepare for your puppy. If you have reserved a puppy, you are on our mailing list, but if you are interested in receiving our informational emails about preparing for and training your puppy, let us know.

They are still very little, but the puppies are constantly licking and tasting, learning about their ever-expanding world.