4 months of puppy growing

[Stacy]

You guys remember when I was afraid for some reason that she wouldn't grow? (Where are my laughing emojis?!) 

The funny part is that she's only 45 pounds, but I feel like she looks bigger. She takes up the whole bed! She's going to shrink next week though, when she goes for her first big girl haircut. I'm ready/not ready for this. I think she's going to come back looking like a totally different dog. She's so much lighter underneath. And I know her hair is never going to be like this puppy hair again, but I'm really excited to see what it will look like when she's a big girl. And she needs the hair on her chin trimmed. I've never seen a dog with such a drippy face. Someone is not a neat drinker.

I think I accidentally turned her nocturnal. She takes these long naps during the day and then she wakes me up 5 times in the middle of the night. We really need to work on that. And she's definitely turning into a teenager. She thinks she's so big, barking out the window. But she's such a sweet little girl. I just marvel looking at the pictures at how little she was. They grow so fast!

[Stacy]

I know doodles aren't for everyone. For me their biggest negative is their grooming needs. I get my hair cut maybe once a year and the girls go to the salon every 6 weeks. But I see people saying how high energy they are, and that has not been my experience. They're all passed out on the floor right now. Maybe I'm just lucky. 

(why is this turned the wrong way?)

I also have 3 part retrievers who have no interest in retrieving. 

I don't get the PB thing either, but there must be something that draws people to them. I can make a long list of dogs that I think would be easier to live with. I think a golden retriever might be the perfect dog - but I've gotten kind of spoiled without all the shedding.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

You trade lots of shedding for minimal to no grooming (assuming Luna shed just like a golden which I think she did).  

She wasn't full size though (only 40 lbs) so it would be magnified with a purebred Golden.  

Not all Golden Retrievers have great personalities either... one of Luna's dog buddies growing up is a rescue Golden who was rescued as a puppy (who gives up a purebred Golden!?).  He is very dog reactive and basically only gets along with dogs he met when he was a puppy.  I don't know if it's because his owner lives alone and he is just protective or he has a naturally aggressive disposition... but he has started a few fights with other dogs in the neighborhood.  His owner is very good at telling people not to approach since the incidents started though.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If your girls chase little animals, they have the retriever instinct. :)
It takes different forms. JD was totally uninterested in wildlife; bunnies would literally sit in the yard right in front of him and he barely noticed. But he would retrieve tennis balls forever, and then want to do it some more. 

[Stacy]

Oh yes. They do chase small furries. I guess I was thinking specifically about retrieving toys. Katie will chase them, but doesn't bring them back. The other two just look at me when I throw things, like umm, I'm going to need you go to get that mom. Why did you throw it over there? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I know a Poodle person who says that the retrieving part of the Volhard puppy test is the most important part, because it shows willingness to "work" for you, or lack thereof. Jasper didn't do too great, lol. There's running after the object, there's bringing it back, and then there's giving it to you. That's the part we're struggling with. He wants me to chase him, lol. 
Treats work, but only once. After that, he loses interest in the object and just tries to get another treat. Working on that, too, but it's slow going. 

[Stacy]

Yes, but the interesting experiment (though not ethical) would be to take those same well bred dogs and raise them in the same way that Maggie was raised and see if they are still fearless. Those really good breeders give their dogs an excellent start to life. I wonder how different it would be if they threw them in a cage and forgot about them. I feel like that socialization period is really significant, and you can't *just* rely on genetics to give them good temperaments. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay, but on the opposite side:
JD was born in a puppy mill and then sold from a pet store, so we could say that his fear issues stemmed from those early experiences and lack of scoialization. 
BUT...my schnoodle was raised just about the same way Jasper was, from birth. Junky pet store parents, but born in a home with only her mother and her litter, and two adoring human parents who handled, played with, bathed, cuddled, etc etc. The humans were friends of my husbands'., they adored those puppies and their mother. I was there when the pups were born. I saw them as they grew, romping underfoot in a normal household, playing in the clean, safe, fenced backyard, etc. And that dog was still fearful, had separation anxiety, was terrified of fireworks, etc. The only difference I can see between her nurturing and fearless Jasper's is the genetics. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

AND...my other fearless purebred Poodle was raised in a breeder's kennel facility, and never set foot on grass or spent any time outdoors until I took her home at 9 weeks. And a more confident, outgoing, fearless dog you never met. She was housebroken in 12 days, slept through the night from day one.   
Genetics. :)

[Adina P]

Karen, I imagine in your schnoodle's litter there were some fearless ones too, no?  I think even with decent genetics there will be some that excel.  Not every guide dog bred dog will be a good guide dog :/

I wish there was a doggy DNA test for all those qualities!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The two other puppies that I had contact with from my schnoodle's litter were yappy, high-strung neurotic dogs, lol. I don;t know how the other two were. Mine was by far the calmest. 

[Adina P]

I think pitbulls are super cute (some of them, maybe pit mixes more than the super hulky squat versions) and when they are happy and dogs, they are super happy and friendly.  But I'm too scared of them in general to ever get one!

An acquaintance of mine posted on FB that she had to say goodbye to her dog because of a move and for a second I thought I'd offer to foster until a good family was found, but it is a pit mix and as wonderful as her dog has been to her, I'm scared of it in my house.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think pitbulls are hideous. Those big grinning gaping mouths, they look like gargoyles or demons to me. 
I don't blame you for being scared to have it in your house. I'm scared to even walk past one in a fenced yard or being walked on a leash.