October 2015 Blog Posts (16)

As most of you know, I have been grooming my doodles their whole lives. Murphy is 7 and Bella is 5 and neither have ever been to a groomer. I started mostly because Murphy is such a nervous Nellie and we just knew he would be so upset, so I didn't want to stress him with the whole experience.

I've always enjoyed my time with them and since I was a hairdresser, years and years ago, it was never that intimidating. Hair always grows back and besides, they are both pretty forgiving when I…

  Hello all, haven't been very active as of late, my grandmother passed away and I've been adjusting to that. I will say Brisco has been amazing during this time, sensing my emotions and really comforting me.

  But he needed some comforting himself here recently bc he got very ill, very fast. It started on a Friday, we woke up to find he had vomited Thursday's dinner up completely undigested. He had eaten around 7 pm on Thursday and around 8 am Friday morning it all came up. At first…

Ruby turned one today. I can't believe it---what a year! What a great dog!

She is funny, snuggly, curious, playful....the best!

Ludo has been home for two weeks now. I can really tell that he's grown.

It's funny because since we spend so much time together, he's never really that excited to see me.  I'm just the one stopping him from doing all the rascally things he tries to do. He wags his tail and gets excited when everyone else walks in and I seemed to be just left sitting around with no one to get excited about me.  Well a few days ago, I left him with my mom to meet my sister for a shopping trip.…

Belle seems to be fine - her usual lively, hungry self.  Hopefully the next two days will be as symptom free. This morning Belle and I went straight to Bed, Bath and Beyond and used one of my many coupons to purchase a small trash can with a secure lid for the bathroom.  What puzzles me is that right next to the open trash can yesterday was an enclosed receptacle for dirty diapers that I bought last winter when I got tired of falling on ice taking animal poop to the garbage (my terrier uses…

More adventures of Belle the labradoodle (it's a good thing she's so cute).  This afternoon a friend visited with her brand new granddaughter.  The baby was adorable, and Belle was very gentle with her during their brief introduction to one another.  As my friend and I admired the baby and chatted, Belle lay on her mat chewing on a bully stick.  Shortly after my friend left, I discovered that the bully stick had morphed into a tiny, pee-soaked diaper.  Apparently my friend had left one in…

When I picked Watson up from the breeder, I knew I had chosen a pup that was a little timid. He loved people but would need to be coaxed to new environments and situations. I knew he would need to be socialized well. I went online and found checklists of things to socialize him with, took him to puppy classes, puppy play hours and really tried to expose him to as much as I could (while being careful before he had all his shots).

From 12 weeks old, we have walked the same neighborhood…

Ludo has been home for just a little over a week.  He has settled in beautifully and he seems to have really bonded to me. I know I've bonded to him. We had quite a busy week and we fared splendidly. I discovered later in the week that he's a total lazy bones!  I found out about six weeks ago that I have autoimmune hypothyroidism which historically has made me really tired and…

If I browse pictures on Facebook, and listen to the experiences of my grooming customers and the owners that participate in my Labradoodle self grooming workshops, it's undeniable that most people wait too long before they visit the groomer.

The result: tangles, felt and a bare-shaven Doodle a few times a year, whilst looking like a Bearded Collie the rest of the year.

I know, most dog owners love a long coat.

The longer, the better, right?

Well,…

To say that I'm bubbling with excitement does not even cover it.

Ludo got home late last night and he is an absolute dream.  I am somewhat hesitant to mention this on DK out of some (hopefully) irrational fear of being judged, but Ludo was shipped here on United Airlines PetSafe program. I know that shipping puppies (though I can't find a lot on DK about it) is…

The other day I posted a blog about the calming influence Fudge has had on me since I found out we were moving, but today I have to rescind the entire thing.  I think tonight I will have nightmares.  I have been super busy and the dogs are great inside the house, but as soon as I go out to work in the garage, all hell breaks loose.  I have found that the more I work in the garage, the more trouble they seem to find. Usually, I will start to hear stones landing on pavement and come out of the…

We are moving.  The last time we moved, all the way from Maryland to Pennsylvania, I swore that was the last time.  John and I did the entire move ourselves, except for a few pieces of furniture that I just could not lift.  Our kids were no help and seemed to have the incredible ability to have plans on the days we could have used some help. Megan and a boyfriend broke up right before the move and to this day I find the timing suspect.  I believe I mentioned that I hoped he could help and…

I've said it before: the white coats of Labradoodles require the most maintenance.

That is, if they're curly or curly fleece coats (which they usually are).

Not just because white Labradoodles love nothing more than to roll around in puddles, mud, sand, etc.

But rather, because white hair is porous, and tangles more easily than brown or black hair.

If this type of coat gets wet and dries by air (or central heating), it’s very susceptible to…

Good news, fellow doodlers! I am now a new parent to two nutty Labradoodles, named Elouise and Dudley (Lou and Duds for short). Yup, life is looking up. I still miss my late doodle, Beasley  but these two are keeping me busy. Life with a puppy is all coming back to me now and double the trouble this time too! Originally, I had planned to get one smaller doodle type but emotions got the better of me and here we are, sibling syndrome or not!

Thought I'd address the issue of sibling…

How exciting that Harley started Doggy Day Care this week. And he loved it. Six hours of playing with 10-15 other dogs.

He comes home exhausted but extremely happy and he was even crowned Homecoming King!