Five weeks ago Matt and I made a fateful decision that will forever change the face of our family. We decided to get a dog. We'd been thinking about it for several months, considering it for Christmas, but the time wasn't right. Thought we might wait until Azlan was potty trained, but that could be forever. So after much research into breed characteristics, one weekend we decided this was the weekend we were going to get a dog.
Enter, Toodles . . .
Toodles is a golden doodle, which means her mom was a poodle and her dad was a golden retriever. Her breeder says she'll be 45-50lbs full grown, and should shed very little, both things that were very important to us.
We've had a lot of fun with Toodles over the last five weeks. Here's very bad video of her playing in the yard with the neighborhood kids. She also likes to take walks around the block and loves to be cuddled.
We've also had a lot of frustration with Toodles. She bites everything -- including the children, to the point that they don't want to be around her. She's having difficulty with housebreaking. The vet says she's a slow learner. She barks anytime she's in her crate and knows we're in the house. The vet said to ignore it. She's out-of-control wild. The vet offered us a Ritalin prescription, and he was serious. This is what she tends to look like to us.
So today is Toodles 3-month birthday. For her birthday present, we're getting her puppy obedience classes. I'm determined she's going to be a nice family pet someday. This is the best birthday portrait I could get of her.
Enter, Toodles . . .
Toodles is a golden doodle, which means her mom was a poodle and her dad was a golden retriever. Her breeder says she'll be 45-50lbs full grown, and should shed very little, both things that were very important to us.
We've had a lot of fun with Toodles over the last five weeks. Here's very bad video of her playing in the yard with the neighborhood kids. She also likes to take walks around the block and loves to be cuddled.
We've also had a lot of frustration with Toodles. She bites everything -- including the children, to the point that they don't want to be around her. She's having difficulty with housebreaking. The vet says she's a slow learner. She barks anytime she's in her crate and knows we're in the house. The vet said to ignore it. She's out-of-control wild. The vet offered us a Ritalin prescription, and he was serious. This is what she tends to look like to us.
So today is Toodles 3-month birthday. For her birthday present, we're getting her puppy obedience classes. I'm determined she's going to be a nice family pet someday. This is the best birthday portrait I could get of her.
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I think the vet's advice to "ignore" the barking is ludicrous. There are some ways to remedy that. I am of the old school of discipline: spanking. Usually works well.
(Didn't work so well for my old dog, who was also literally expelled from obedience school. But I've seen enough hunting dogs trained to know that it can be done).
Good luck!!! I hope the class super fantastically well!
Time to set that DVR to the Dog Whisperer...
Hey Jess! What an adorable dog! Remember our golden retriever? It takes them about 3 years to grow out of puppy-hood, so be prepared for patience...in the end they are fabulous. We sent our golden to live with Buzzy's dad (pregnancy induced hormonal decision). She is such a laid-back dog now...we wish we could have her back!