This page contains information about the litter, the parents, and general information to help you care for your new puppy.
Litter: The puppies were born on 2 November 2022 from about 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. There are 3 males and 5 females and all were born healthy. I begin weaning them at 3 weeks of age. When they’re ready for pickup on December 21st, they will be fully weaned and will have been eating Purina Puppy Chow Healthy Start Nutrition Chicken and Rice Dry Dog food.
Parents: Blue Ridge’s Lady Willow, aka Willow, and Sir Tucker of Loudoun, aka Tucker, are Golden Retrievers. They are both excellent with people and other dogs. They are very intelligent, calm, and empathetic. They are also very tolerant of loud noises like gunshots. Since we live in Western Loudoun County, lots of people shoot skeet and/or target shoot on their property. They are also unfazed by 4th of July’s fireworks displays.
Dam: Willow is what is referred to as an English Cream. English Cream is not a breed, rather it is a Golden Retriever that is cream colored but is described in AKC paperwork as “light golden”. I purchased her from a breeder near Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Sire: Tucker is a light golden colored Golden Retriever I purchased from a breeder near Frederick, Maryland. He is also very good with people, and for a male dog he’s unusually careful around small children (to not accidentally knock them over).
Current Vaccinations: Vaccinations will be administered around 6 weeks of age. They will also be examined by a veterinarian and a health certificate will be provided to you when you pick up your puppy. Additional information about required vaccinations can be obtained from your vet or found on the AKC.org web site. When you take your puppy to your veterinarian the first time, he or she may want to restart the vaccination protocol and this is not unusual. My own veterinarian does the same.
Worming: Puppies will be wormed with Pyrantel Pamoate in accordance with my veterinarian’s recommendation at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of age.
Dog Licensing: Virginia requires dogs to be licensed and in Loudoun County, you may be fined up to $250 for not licensing your dog. In Loudoun County, you must provide proof of Rabies shots to license your dog. License renewals run in parallel with the Virginia Rabies Vaccination requirements schedule. You may review the requirements at www.loudoun.gov. Fairfax County also provides information at their web site, www.fairfaxcounty.gov. Your local municipality is likely to have a web site from which you can get further information.
AKC Registration: To register your new puppy, you can either fill in the application provided or do it online at www.akc.org.
A link to the AKC site that describes vaccinations and the recommended schedule is below. There are quite a few rounds of shots at different times in the first year. Do you know why puppies need all those vaccinations?
A) Because it takes at least four vaccinations for full immunity?
B) Each shot “boosts” the immunity from the first shot?
C) Neither A nor B?
Vaccines are repeated in order to make sure the puppy receives a vaccination as soon as his immune system is able to respond as we want it to – to respond by developing antibodies to the disease antigens in the vaccines, so the answer is C. Basically, some puppies gain immunity on the first set of shots but not all, while more gain immunity from the seconds set of shots (again, but not all), and the rest gain immunity from the final set of shots. Vets recommend they get annual boosters too.
Other links of interest:
Blue Ridge Goldens 