For months we very carefully have been doing a lot of research and talking about whether or not we were ready to have a puppy in our home. Both of us being previous dog owners, just not for over 20 years, we remembered (or thought that we did) just how much involved one must be if you wish to have a well mannered dog.
Now that I worked from home, we would have an opportunity to take care of one properly. With both of us leaving for work so early and coming home so late, there was no way that we could have cared for a dog. I know that for me in the home alone, it would be great company. Plus, Steve would be retiring at some point in the near future and our puppy Davis would have both of us with him most of the time. For now, it is a matter of training him to our standards.
Of course, this meant going out and getting all set up for a puppy. We are going the crate training route and thank goodness that our vet totally believes that this is the way to go for most dogs. It does fit our little one's personality. He actually goes in it for his own peace and tranquility.
The two pictures above show his growth. He went to the vet for his third puppy visit yesterday. He has doubled his weight. He is now 4 months old and weighs 20 pounds. It is hard to guess how big he will get, however the vet was guessing that most definitely over 50 pounds and could go to 60.
With that being said, I most definitely want a dog who is obedience trained, so we have already started this class. He is the star pupil in the class. Most of the time he is great at home. When he wants the mischievous puppy horns to pop out, he is a star at that also. Have you heard the term selective hearing? Davis can come running to you when you call his name 90% of the time. The other 10% he will come if he wants to and if nothing else is distracting him, such as a leaf or a plane or bird in the sky or a fly zooming over his head. This is when I realize he is just a puppy and we just keep working on it. The key word is consistency.
Then there was the day that I thought someone had done something terrible to Davis. It was as if he had become possessed. He started running back and forth in the yard, giving little yips at me, staring at me with wild eyes and then doing it all over again. Thank goodness that I did get a highly recommended book on goldendoodles and they call this the 'zoomies.' Another name is the puppy crazies. Most breeds go through this. It is a matter of running off excess energy that built up. So it is important to get enough exercise for him.
Steve has been taking advantage of the beautiful weather that we have been having by taking him for a 2 mile walk around our lake in the neighborhood another walkway in the neighborhood. Usually Davis returns, has his dinner and then sleeps, let's say 'conks' out for about an hour. He is a very active dog and will need a good walk every day. I don't think it will be happening on rainy days because at this stage, he does not even like to go out to take care of his business if it is raining or if it has rained and the grass is wet.
We decided on a goldendoodle after seeing a few around the neighborhood, reading about them and seeing pictures. Yes, the majority of goldendoodles are golden in color. I love the fact that our little one is a black goldendoodle. In fact, the whole liter of puppies were black. The mother was a black standard poodle. The father was an English Golden Retriever. Davis is quite a handsome dog. He gets all the oooohhhhs and aaaaahhhhs when we go out. He tends to be a ham and eat it all up. He sits straighter, curls his tail or if it is in the middle of walking then he begins his prancing, as if to say, "Look at me!"
A puppy is not for everyone. Steve and I both have had our moments of being worn down just taking care of our new baby. All it takes is his sweet little face, a snuggle and a puppy kiss and it makes us remember why we chose this little furball to be ours.
Even though he is not this size yet, at the rate that he is growing, it won't be long and he will still be just as precious at this age as it was the day that we picked him up from his very special breeder. All of her puppies are given such tender loving care and Kim always wants to be sure that each of her puppies will be going to a home where this will continue. Davis is in that place! xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment