Another Doodle

[Sally S Miles]

We did it - we got another one!  How do you decide when is a good time? How do you determine which dog?

It's time and he was there.

 

He is a rehome, fourteen months old, has had some training (needs more!),  but he's a love. He needs to lose weight - ten or more lbs easily - my guess is that he clears 80lbs and he has enormous bones.  He moves like - and has feet like a Polar Bear.  This week will be vet visit, groomer, and lots of patience. 

 

Intro went well and the two dogs played and played yesterday.   He managed to get halfway through my daily 'test' of down/stay - nearly half hour - for  feeding rituals.   He rode home like a pro.  He picked the green beans out of his dinner bowl and put them on the floor.   He drinks gobs of water.  He is seriously people oriented - wonderful with small children - spent the night on the floor by the bed (too big for crate we have) so we let Journey have the floor also for the night.  They are still snoring :)

 

Lots of work ahead - so I am asking for good thoughts and some moral support.  We weren't crazy about a puppy again, have been looking here and there = high and low.  He looks and moves like an old dog - but he's a youngster.  A mellow fellow - thus far.  He paces, he sticks like glue to us, and he is not much of a fetcher. He has gobs of thick cream fleece - it's curly/wavy, thick and feels not unlike wool (gads he needs a bath) - our groomer has a big day coming... Green eyes, liver nose - sort of the flip side of the coin - our very feminine girl now has a big galoot for a brother!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Just gorgeous!  What a big ol' bundle of dood!  Lots of good times for you and that lucky boy! 

[Adrienne]

Congrats!!  He is gorgeous.  Sounds like you lucked out :)

[Adrianne Matzkin]

He is stunning!!!!! share his story!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

What a BIG, handsome fella! Sounds like he's going to be a good match for your household, nice and mellow. Its great, too, that Journey isn't resource guarding. Wonderful, really. Our older doodle, Lucy, is the same with 11 mo. old Oscar. She is so good about giving him first 'dibs' on any toy (of course, Oscar is extremely possessive of ALL the toys in the house - he doesn't resource guard, though, at least not aggresively). Good thing Lucy is so flexible and willing to share. Congrats!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

What a sweet looking BIG doodle. Luckily he probably won't w grow much more in bone length. And he won't look so big once groomed either . What is the story behind the rehome? Do you know anything about his past and why they gave him up? Good luck and enjoy! Clever fella taking those beans out! But he will learn to like them as you start cutting back foods, and feels a little hungry now and then. Good luck !

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Congratulations. He certainly is handsome.

[Sally S Miles]

Thank you all -  let me see - oh, his color... Well he is filthy, the lovely shade of  'grey' is dirt - but under it is a nice bright cream with apricot points.  His 'green' eyes are a mix of copper and green. The introduction was hilarious.

 

He comes from a military family - man broke his leg at work a couple of months ago and has been unable to exercise him - wife works swing shift and they have  two small kids. He is wonderful with the 3 year old - we saw it - and was devoted to his owner.  Owner is now on crutches and getting around, but realized the dog needs attention. He is going to be deployed soon and figured his wife was not going to be able to manage him. So - he came from a BYB - reverse parentage of Journey - Golden sire and Poodle mom.  He has been on several road trips, gone camping, hiking, to the beach and has been boarded, vetted, and used to go to a daycare as well as enjoys dog parks. He likes water.   I was told he was 'about fifty lbs', but also figured from photos that he was bigger.  He arrived in crate riding in bed of pickup truck, he was stressed and yet appeared happy. He was responsive to kindness and direction. He was aware of surroundings and not intimidated.   It didn't take him long at all to figure out we were ok and in short order he was relaxed and walking around the park on lead, by the time we put him in the car he was looking to us for guidance.  Initial impressions were that he has many needs, but he has an open mind to whatever it takes to be with us. 

 

He is big - he should not be quite so big. He has not had to 'work' much - but grasps the concept now - he's like a lazy teen who wants and doesn't know how to get whatever it is.     I really think his vision is blocked a bit by the hair in his face, have to groom him.  When he knows he is being addressed - he will 'sit' or 'down' - he responds to No and he responds to the verbal throaty, growling  'eh eh' correction.   He seems both confused and pleased with where he is at, one play session did not include hubby and he looked for him a couple of times, bottom line is he seems to like this new pack. 

 

He did not spit out the green beans last night! 

 

I think Journey is confused, frankly. Lots less playing yesterday - shorter bursts, they hung out and followed me around. Play time - he does not care for a ball - but he will run to it alongside her.  Play time yesterday was split between Journey doing her usual thing, chew ball/chase ball/tackle jolly ball/pounce ball/and roll around.   He followed her or just paced.    Anyway - there were several times when she had this look on her face that I could not quite comprehend - did get a bit clingy at one point, but wound up a very good day.    She seems pleased that he is here and has no problem with telling him to leave her alone.  Their play style seems to mesh.

She has been really showing off her skills - we have been absolutely delighted at how well she seems to be showing him what is expected. Her responses to all commands have been pretty much spot on!  She sighed and nudged him when he was really slowing up the dinner train - she instigates play and gives it her all - anyway I adore her and the world revolves in her light.

 

Mauka decided that chew toys are cool.  I had asked his prior owner about his toy preferences and was simply warned about his preference for children's shoes over adult shoes. So - now he has toys - I ran over and grabbed some extras yesterday so there are now two of everything in the living room floor. They lounged and gnawed together for a long time in the afternoon - dragging in this toy or that and piling up on the rug in living room.   The new name was a big hit with him and it's game on - fast response.   Which reminds me , yesterday he learned the meaning of 'game over', not one of Journey's favorite phrases either.

 

Dinner prep is a bit of a self created ritual here and he again made it very well through first half - he has no patience -  so I see massive potential.  I walked both dogs on either side of me and it went ridiculously well - as long as I let Journey bring her ball.  

 

He has absolutely no idea how big he is - frankly he is rude in the way he plows in - he just mosies on into things. He obviously does not feel great - he's fat and has not been exercised in a couple of months - but food came anyway.  Now I'm switching him to good food, exercise will be doled out in small portions, often,  as I get him situated. 

 

I have no trouble touching or handling him anywhere on his body, we both went over him a few times - and I am not even going to try to get through that coat - he knows three hand signals with commands.  He smells like an old sheep and frankly moves like an old dog.  He eats neatly, drinks gobs of water, and had absolutely no interest in either a carrot for snack or the yogurt popsicle after dinner .  He takes treats very nicely and his recall is excellent.  He was unphased by traffic near the park. 

 

Haircut will change visual a lot - after her first cut we had half our dog - at the moment his hair is a bit over four inches, very thick.  He lumbers along, those feet are absurd.   Solid, so yes I have concerns about what's inside regarding his bones and internals after all that junk food.  When I asked about his diet I was told "Purina dog chow, big green bag...."   So I asked how much did he get? "Oh, standard dog bowl once in morning, again for dinner."     ....arghhhhh!!  It's obvious he never had to work for food or ever missed a meal.  His digestive tract seems like iron because I did not go buy his previous junk food for transition - he's eating fine and enjoys the grain free fish based kibble. 

 

So far he has learned that we expect him to follow orders and it is new to him - - but he's doing it, slowly..  Lovely dinner with a dog on that side and a dog on that side as we eat - they have to be a rug.   He tunes out, but these things take time.  I see a cool dog in there and am aiming at brining him out. 

Have mercy...

 

 

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

He is very handsome! Congratulations to you all!

[Robin and Libby Louise]

Sounds like things are going pretty well - He sounds like a smart boy who will fit right in with your smart girl!  Looking forward to more updates!

[Pat and Traveler]

What a beautiful big boy!  He's lucky to have found such a loving and caring family.

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

He sounds like he's going to be a lot of fun.  I'm constantly amazed at how smart these doods are!  I recently adopted a stray  1 year old GD puppy from a kill shelter 3 weeks ago, and was prepared to go through a very difficult adjustment period considering how scraggly and matted and neglected she was.  She is constantly amazing me with how quickly she learns the rules and new commands.  She is actually more obedient and eager to please than funny little Kona that I've trained since he was a baby!  It's almost as if she is saying "I promise to be good!  Just keep loving me and don't abandon me!"  It sounds like your dood is similar in his quick understanding and shifting of behavior. 

He's adorable.  I would have loved a big galoot, but my tiny house and bad knees drove me to stick with a large mini (24 pounds and 26 pounds)

[Sally S Miles]

I can assure you that my bad knees are tired, the small house is full - but you know I have to give this my all.  Size is important, but our initial evaluation was decent and he really is catching on.  He is doing very well - she wants to cut her walk short to get back home to him! His lead work went great today and yesterday his Down/Stay was vastly improved.   I was looking - not locked in on size or color or age or gender even - no locked in on anything other than looking for a good fit and so far.....

Meanwhile Journey has been on exemplary behavior and he is taking many cues from her. Awesome