It's NOT magic people! (a rant)

[BG and Gavin]

Please forgive me for this rant but I am so sick of hearing some version of this story (as I did yet again today) that I could scream.  No, I could cry.  I almost did.

Lady on the street: “Your dog is beautiful, how old is he?”

Me: “Thank you, he just turned two.”

Lady: “Was he hyper as a puppy and has settled down as he aged?”

Me: “He has never been hyper, but was quite active and liked to put his mouth on everything as a pup.”

Lady: “I have a one year old labradoodle and she is sooo hyper.  I am hoping she will grow out of it.”

Me: “Have you done any training classes with her?”

Lady: “We went to one, but I don’t think it did any good. Your dog walks so nicely how do you do it?”

Me: “Lots of practice.  He gets at least two 45 min walks per day.  Which by the way really helps keep him calm.”

Lady: “We have kids, so really don’t have time to walk her.”

Me: “Oh.”

Now I am mad at myself that I did not say more (not that it would help) and again I feel worried that this will be a dog that is given up shortly.  That is the part that makes me want to cry.  No dog is perfect.  Some in fact arrive with issues that are extremely difficult to deal with.  I understand that.  But part of the joy and responsibility of having a dog is spending time with it.  Walking. Training.  Along the way they learn and so do we.  Okay, thanks for listening. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Yup...so sad.

[BG and Gavin]

Robodoodle!  Hey you may be on to something here. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Jane, that was perfect.  Some people are so stupid.

[Michael Gurley]

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/14875091-Perfect-Polly-Cocker%20...

 

This is the dog that these people need to buy. She is completely trained, requires NO exercise, she allows kids to pull on her ears and tail as hard as they want, she doesn't make messes and doesn't even need food!

 

[BG and Gavin]

Good one Michael! :)

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Amen, Sister!!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I don't know what to say, but I agree with your assumption that the dog will soon be homeless.  You need to carry DRC cards so she can contact the DRC and the poor dog can get a home where it will be loved and trained.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Yep, I've  seen this same thing. People complaining how hyper their dogs are, then they admit that they haven't done any training and don't exercise the dogs. Dumb.

[Jennifer and "Cooper"]

Ok.  So the "lady" you were talking to basically assumed that there is a breeder some where that magically breeds dogs that are already well behaved, calm and trained.  Wow.  I wish I had gotten Cooper from that breeder.  Oh wait!  No I don't. I got a puppy because I wanted to spend time with it, and play with it, and socilize it, and take care of it, and train it, and love it, etc., etc., etc.  She's also probably one of those people who got the puppy because the kids wanted one, they promised to take care of it and it would be a "good lesson in responsibility" but now the kids don't want anything to do with it.  (That's a whole different rant: The crazy and stupid reasons people get a puppy.)  People like her make me nuts!!

[BG and Gavin]

Yes, the "lesson in responsibility defense."  I have an idea, why don't you just get the kids to make their beds and pick up after themselves instead. :)

[Christy and Yoda]

On a similar note, I get so annoyed when people come up to us and after confirming that Yoda is a labradoodle, the first thing out of their mouth is a comment about how they don't shed.  I of course immediately tell them we are lucky, but that many labradoodles do, in fact, shed and that there is really no guarantee.  At this point they either insist that labradoodles don't shed or just look at me like I have two heads and then walk away.  This usually happens at least twice every time we take him somewhere.

[BG and Gavin]

Gavin does shed a little.  When people say "he dosen't shed does he?" I say "only if you are wearing black!"