I finally broke down yesterday and called a private trainer to come and help us with Phoebe's newfound tween behavior. My poor oldest son is taking the brunt of her biting and jumping with the awesome growling thrown in for good measure. When I consulted the trainer, she told me that dogs growl a lot in play sometimes and that it is not to be confused with the teeth baring, snarling growl of aggression--which Phoebe is NOT doing, thank heavens. While that made me feel a lot better, we still…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on August 28, 2009 at 5:49am —
12 Comments
I am one frustrated doodle owner right now. Phoebe, I suppose well into her tweens at 6.5 months and exercising all 'tween rights', is driving me insane with the growling and the biting of her leash on her harness--not to mention all the barking in the house that she has started to do. Our fun walks have turned into power struggles as least until I re-establish Alpha with her as we round the corner. This morning, with three of four children in tow (boy, would I like to be the one at camp to…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on July 23, 2009 at 10:20am —
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Spay day was yesterday and I think Phoebe did way better than I did. I was a nervous wreck waiting for the phone call that she was awake and resting. When I picked her up at night, she was groggier than I had anticipated and the incision was larger than I had thought it would be. She made it through the night beautifully but she seems so sad. While I undertand that this was a major surgery, I am dying to see her running and jumping around again--this whole thing is killing me. She is on pain…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on June 13, 2009 at 3:17pm —
13 Comments
My poor Phoebe is sick again--the culture sent out after the last UTI came back showing crystallizations. She is now on yet another round of antibiotics and, this morning, vomited 6 times. I took her in to the vet immediately and it seems she might be allergic to the Clavamax. She is on another restricted diet for a day and we will start another antibiotic tomorrow night and see how that goes ( hopefully the new one will not have any ill side effects). She turns 5 months today and I swear she…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on June 3, 2009 at 8:12am —
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We were having a great Mother's Day and then it happened. My son was playing with Phoebe on her leash ( my oldest had the leash in his hands) and she got over-excited, jumped and nipped him millimeters from his eye. Of course, my parents were watching them as I had just cut my hand and needed to wash it inside. I thought I was going to pass out. My husband was at the cell phone store--his phone disconnected, of course--so it took a while to reach him. We raced our son to the ER and they…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on May 10, 2009 at 7:11pm —
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Phoebe woke up as though it was going to be just a normal day. We took her outside to play and then she got sick three times and laid down on the grass. I got so scared that I called the vet immediately to inform the office that I was bringing her in. When we got there, Phoebe seemed to perk up a little and she even wanted to play with a GR puppy. The vet said she checked out fine--no pain in the abdomen, normal temp, well hydrated, etc. She suggested we do a ruine test as Phoebe has had so…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on April 28, 2009 at 12:16pm —
18 Comments
Well, even after our terrible day yesterday Phoebe pulled it off in the end and graduated from puppy k. She did a fabulous job and even took first place in two events...the down/stay and the trick (I taught her to crawl). She did very well and even made it into the second round for another event. I never thought it would happen after the poor behavior during the day but we are so proud of her. We will be starting the next round of obedience training come May/June. Now if I could only get her to…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on April 16, 2009 at 8:48am —
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We had our next to last class tonight and Phoebe was on her game. She has mastered sit, down, sit/stay (with me traveling quite a distance), down and we are working on down/stay. She loves to go over the jumps--very low--that are set up and she can 'wait' and 'leave it' for quite a long period. Next week, we will be tested plus we need to perform a trick. We were showed how to work on shake and rollover but Phoebe has the crawl down already so we are running with that. I cannot believe we have…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on April 8, 2009 at 7:01pm —
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I think I am losing focus as I feel as though I am going through the terrible two's with my little girl and I cannot see the end at the light of the tunnel--at least not tonight. Oh how I adore her but, boy, would I love that potty issue resolved shortly and, while I am at it, how about not pulling my arm out of my socket when we attempt--and I mean merely attempt--to walk on leash. I used to be so against the idea of a Gentle Leader as I really wanted Phoebe to learn with a standard leash and…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on April 7, 2009 at 5:19pm —
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Okay, that is what Phoebe seems like to me these days anyway. This puppy will gnaw on anything wood like my kitchen chairs or, my personal favorite, the decorative inlaid molding around our island in the kitchen. I have tried 'trading' her a favorite toy or treat to stop gnawing...she takes the bait and then returns to her passion a second later. We have tried bitter apple which she loves and now Tabasco which she licked off the gate excitedly. I have plopped her in her ex-pen to calm down and…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on March 30, 2009 at 3:30pm —
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This week of puppy kindergarten was so much better than last week. We had to work with the dogs this time as opposed to it being a more relaxed orientation and play time. Phoebe was on her game tonight and the instructor was so impressed that she has already mastered 'sit' and 'down' and that we had begun working on 'heel' by ourselves. Since the classes are held at our vet's office, we had the opportunity to put Phoebe on the scale--she is a whopping 16.2# at 10 weeks old. It will be fun to…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on March 18, 2009 at 7:17pm —
3 Comments
Yesterday, Phoebe had no accidents inside and I was so thrilled thinking that we had turned a corner BUT...I suppose not. So far today, she has had three accidents including peeing down my a/c register in the floor by the front door. I suppose I should be happy that she went to the front door but I am still grappling with the sight of her and my inability to catch her fast enough. That is the other frustration. We watch her like a hawk but she gives us no warning--no sniffing or wandering or…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on March 16, 2009 at 2:41pm —
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I had to take Phoebe to the vet this morning as she threw up once and then was piddling all around. I thought it might be a UTI but the vet said she is too young for that. Her urine was tested and she has a very high white cell count and some bacteria. She is now on a 14 day course of antibiotics. Thankfully, she has a lot of energy and she seems fine otherwise. I am praying she pulls through this soon and we will be well on our way to being housebroken--I am assuming this had something to do…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on March 6, 2009 at 11:32am —
9 Comments
I changed the bedding in her crate to a soft liner and last night she slept from 11pm-4am--YAY I also think the shot from the vet may have 'helped' that along as well but I was so excited. She also went right back to sleep after I walked her. I hope we turned a corner but she is such a good girl that I know if not right now, she will be sleeping through the night consistently very soon. Thanks to all of you who added your comments. It is wonderful to know that I can vent to people who really…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on March 4, 2009 at 7:55am —
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Phoebe has decided to be a night owl--a barking, whining one, that is. Last night, she barked for an hour and forty-five minutes straight. Despite the lack of sleep, I could not adore her anymore than I do. My youngest has bonded with her in the most amazing way and she seems to have a wonderfully balanced temperament--loves to play but she is soothed quite easily. In time, I am hoping that sleeping through the night will become the norm. She is still so young--just 8 weeks. I also hope that…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on March 3, 2009 at 7:22am —
14 Comments
It was a struggle but she is finally here with us and we are loving it. She got in after midnight this morning(not on our planned flight)--we are all bleary eyed as we played for a little and then she despised her crate so she barked the entire night save for 45 minutes. She is such a precious angel though--chocolately fleecey fur anf those amazing green eyes. My youngest is home sick today and he is having the best time with his new puppy. I am trying to get some new photos up but things are…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on March 2, 2009 at 10:58am —
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There was a snag in the plans caused by the ice storm that hit AR so we are still waiting for Phoebe--she should have arrived at noon today. The new flight took her through Houston with a two hour layover. We are all wrecks here--but I am bouncing off the walls. My oldest is so disppointed that the children will only have a little while with her before school tomorrow. My youngest--who woke up with a fever this morning as if the Phoebe delay was not enough to contend with for a Sunday…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on March 1, 2009 at 6:40pm —
3 Comments
This is it--the weekend Phoebe arrives!!! My husband will pick her up at the airport on Sunday (3/1) while my children and I do the final preparations back at the house. Our excitement is palpable. I cannot believe we made it--well, almost--the eight weeks to see her. It is truly a testament to my children's ability that they have made it through this week with tests and homework--and they did it so well. We cannot wait to cuddle our new little doodle girl.
Added by Phoebe's Mom on February 26, 2009 at 5:30pm —
6 Comments
I have read so much information about food choices that I have rendered myself incapable of making a choice. Phoebe is set to arrive on 3/1 so I need to make my decision soon. I spoke to her breeder and she told me she is feeding the puppies Purina Puppy Chow but the parents eat raw. Based on what I told her about my research, she told me that she is confident I will make the right choice for Phoebe and our family but I am really not too certain of that at the moment. I want to choose a food…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on February 10, 2009 at 11:00am —
2 Comments
Today our Phoebe turned four weeks old so we only have one more month to go before her arrival. I am starting to buy things for her from toys and shampoo to Chris Christensen grooming tools and a leash and collar. I now need to puppy-proof the house and decide on which food to start her on once she gets here. I must admit that has been one of my biggest decisions and challenges thus far--too many choices.. Another admission would be that I have some anxiety about this new little life joining my…
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Added by Phoebe's Mom on February 3, 2009 at 5:30pm —
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