Will Lulu finally have her first litter? We sure hope so! Lulu is a Bernese Mountain Dog girl that we’ve raised from a puppy to become one of our mommas here at Joley Aire. I’ve been especially excited about her because she has a stocky build that resembles a more European style of Berner over the American types. Besides her body type, Lulu has perfectly symmetrical markings, a lovely white stripe down her face, and a winning personality! She’s even-tempered, slightly on the lazy side, and loves everyone!

We weren’t able to get Lulu pregnant during her last heat, but a lot was going on at the time, so we’re feeling more prepared this time around. The plan is to breed her to Winston for Bernedoodle puppies. If all goes well, these puppies will be born at the end of October and ready to leave mid-December, Minka is also due with Bernedoodles in October and her puppies will be ready in early December, and we expect Nala to come into heat soon making her puppies due in November and ready to go early January (we plan to breed Nala to Conley for a purebred Bernese Mountain Dog litter). With two Bernedoodle litters and one Bernese Mountain dog litter ready to go around December, we’ll have lots of options for people wanting a puppy for Christmas!

Of course, the biggest lesson we’ve had to learn in breeding is not to count your chickens (or puppies) until they’re hatched….whelped. Things seldom go the way we plan. A breeding might not take, a pregnancy could be lost in a miscarriage, we could have really small litters, or the puppies might not survive birth. But, because we need to have a plan and our customers expect some warning in advance, we try to be as transparent and optimistic as possible! To help with keeping all the upcoming litters straight, I’m trying out a new calendar feature on our website. Check it out:

BEHIND THE SCENES

I’ve wanted to keep up with this blog several times a week, if not daily, but, to be honest, I haven’t felt like there was much to write about the last few days. That’s mainly because I’ve been working long hours on our website - optimizing it for a better customer experience. Unless you’re a total web design nerd like I am, I’m sure you haven’t noticed the new fonts and slightly different coloring on some pages. I don’t expect you to, and maybe it’s a waste of time, but I believe it makes a difference. Either way, it’s work I enjoy, just not that interesting to share about. Nevertheless, I’m going to anyway!

One of the optimizations you can see in the calendar above. This calendar will replace the stand-alone pages I used to build for each upcoming litter.

Another change I’m implementing is to structure the litter pages more like a sales landing page. I’m using Mae’s litter as a trial for this new format. First, I took away distractions such as our website header and footer. Then, I built sections that focus more on the potential customer and how their life will improve with one of these puppies rather than just sharing the facts about the litter. For instance, instead of saying “This litter is ready to go on October 13th”, the section explains why October is a good time to take home a puppy and what fun they’ll have doing fall activities with their new Bernedoodle.

I know these tweaks aren’t a silver bullet solution to finding homes for our puppies (the market is still a little slow since the fallout from Covid), but I believe the small things added together do make a difference. (me justifying the hours I’ve spent on the computer the last few days)

PICTURES OF MAE’S PUPPIES!

While we’re talking about Mae’s new and improved litter page, I almost forgot to say that I finally took pictures of the Fall Litter! Seriously, these puppies are absolutely stunning! What’s fun is that we got a good sampling of Bernedoodle colors. I just wish one of those Merles were tri-color, then, we’d have all the colors.

These chunky puppies are doing well. We haven’t even started touching base with the Waiting List, so we don’t know which ones will be reserved, yet. We should know in the next few weeks. If you’re interested in a standard bernedoodle puppy, you can join the waiting list to reserve a spot in line for this or an upcoming litter. Click the button below to find out how to start.

POOKIE AND SQUEAK

The real reason it’s hard for me to justify working on the website so long is because Pookie and Squeak still need homes! I should be working harder on marketing, but to be honest, I feel like I’ve hit a wall. I just don’t get it. These two are beautiful, personable puppies, yet we haven’t found those special families to call them their own. As they are now 9 1/2 weeks old, we are going to discount their prices by $500! I hate doing this because they only gain value by spending more time training with us, but if it helps remove a barrier for a potential family, it’s worth it.

OPENING UP THE COMMENTS SECTION

I’m going to do something I don’t normally do and open up the comments section below. I’d love to read your thoughts. What do you think of the new calendar system or Mae’s litter page? Did you enjoy the pictures of Mae’s pups? Are you considering Squeak or Pookie, but something is holding you back? Tell me below!