Debb, Lucy & Oscar's Blog (17)

Its been a busy last few days, but Saturday morning my DH informed me that after he returned from taking Lucy for a potty he found Oscar had thrown up not one, but TWO socks in his crate. He hadn't yet eaten his breakfast so the socks were pretty dry. This is the 2nd time he's thrown up a sock (or 2!). The first time the entire incident was on our radar, as I had found 1 sock but not the matching other sock. That time we just played a waiting game, for him to either develop symptoms of an…

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Alright, I already know Oscar believes ALL toys are HIS. From the day we brought him home at 8 weeks he made that very clear. He was the smallest male of his litter and maybe he learned it then. He had to be assertive to get what he wanted. By 'assertive' I mean patient and able to take advantage of an opportunity. He's smart and not mean in the least. No aggressive tendencies and no 'resource guarding'. If there's a toy another dog has that he wants, he will most definitely get it in the…

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Oh, the joys of having 2 doodles!  Never a dull moment... I love a happy ending, and this story has a happy ending.

A few nights ago the doods were upstairs on the landing, lying side by side on their haunches, each with an antler. My DH was upstairs and I heard him come out of the bedroom, where he'd been watching TV, to check on the dogs. He remarked how good they both were! A little later, I stepped out of the study and glanced upstairs, and I saw 2 heads, side by side, peeking…

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Tomorrow Oscar sees 2 dental vet specialists for his malocclusion (narrow base canines). We had his lower baby canines extracted at 10 weeks old because they were growing straight up and hitting his hard palate. It was found at that time he had a severe overbite, with his lower jaw unable to grow properly (due to the lower baby canines holding it in place). Since the extractions we had hoped his lower jaw would 'catch up' in growth to his upper jaw. 13 weeks later, that doesn't appear to be…

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Its been far too long for a blog update on Oscar... over 2 months?! Wow, how time flies...

Where to begin? Our trials and tribulations with potty training are long behind us now, and since then we've come to discover just how EASY Oscar is. He's got the calmest, mellowest, easy-going attitude and temperament of any dog I've met. For almost 5 months old, that's saying a lot! Training is a snap as Oscar is so food motivated. He learns quickly and will do anything for a treat as long as…

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Let's see, we've had Oscar home now for 2-1/2 weeks. That first week was a killer with Oscar not having a clue where he was suppose to go potty. Lots of indoor accidents, lots of trips outside that yielded no results. Lots of frustration and exhaustion (on my part!). The 2nd week got easier as Oscar finally put it together where he should be if he had to go pee (near the back patio door), and since that's clicked he's been very consistent on signally us (he drinks a lot of water, therefore…

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DIFFERENCES

Oscar weighed in at 12.8 lbs at his 8 week vet visit. Lucy was 10.6 lbs. Their breeder told me Oscar would be much smaller than Lucy, but I'm really wondering now with the difference in weight at the same young age. Time will tell, I guess.



Oscar is a HEARTY eater! Lucy just picked at her food at his age (and to this day isn't a big food enthusiast). Oscar seems continually hungry. His stool sample came back parasite free so he's just a hungry guy!



Oscar… Continue

What a crazy few days its been! Oscar came home Tuesday and man-oh-man, how could I have forgotten how frustrating, anxiety inducing and tiring POTTY TRAINING is! I'm certain Lucy was no easier, but its funny how you just seem to forget the parts of puppy raising that weren't AT ALL fun. I must go outside 2 dozen times a day, all hours of the day and night. Most of the time we just stand out there, Oscar staring at me, or biting at leaves, or laying down in the pea gravel. How JOYOUS when…

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We're getting a new puppy. Oscar, a multi-gen standard labradoodle (the smallest male of the litter). A new puppy really wasn't on our radar at all, not until my husband clicked on Lucy's breeder's website and saw she had a new litter of puppies (due to her family obligations, she hasn't had a litter in years). Our worlds revolve around Lucy and we think she's the most incredibly smart and wonderfully tempered dog on the planet. We knew the product her breeder puts out, so all of a sudden…

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I am constantly amazed at how quickly Lucy finds another doodle to play with at the dog park. The moment we hit the park, both she and I scan the area for doodles. Usually, there are none to be seen, and sadly, Lucy spends the time playing with my husband and me, running between us, with that big smile of hers beaming from ear to ear. I say 'sadly', because there is simply no better joy than seeing Lucy play with another doodle. She has a very distinctive way of playing with lots of play bows,… Continue

2 blogs in as many days... its been an exciting last 24 hrs., to say the least. Yesterday after a long walk with Lucy I came in the door and took off my shoes and socks. I placed the shoes on the nook table and stuffed a sock into each shoe, thinking I'd take care of them later. I'm usually very good about putting things away and out of sight/reach of the Luce-Monster. But DH wasn't coming home for dinner (late sales meeting) and I was on my own and wanted to BBQ some chicken on the grill,…

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Gosh, its been ages since I  last wrote a blog about Lucy. How time flies! Where to I begin? Let me first start by saying our (my DH and I) worlds revolve around Lucy. She is the center of our universe. Our 1st dog... who would have thunk it? We now go biking with Lucy on linear park trails and beaches (the latter, off leash), go for agility training, and take her to dog parks and walks around the neighborhood. We basically plan our vacations around her, going to…

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18 weeks old today. Why does it feel we've had Lucy for about 3 years, rather than nearly 3 months? Anyway, I just wanted to express how I'm beginning to feel a real bond with Lucy that had been missing in earlier weeks. I always loved her and felt a connection to her, but that true bond that comes from really knowing another being, that's what I'm talking about. And its a mutual feeling. Lucy is learning to know me too. I love that. Those early puppy weeks we were all so new to each other.…

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Lucy turned 12 weeks old last Friday and went to her 2nd puppy romp yesterday. During her 1st puppy romp, over a week ago, she stayed close to us and didn't appreciate other puppies' approaches. This latest puppy romp was very different... well, different enough for us anyway. She went to all the people, no problem. Loved, loved, LOVED the people.. men, women and children, but ran from the puppies in the first 45 minutes of the session. The last 15 minutes she started making play bows to… Continue

Lucy turns 11 weeks old tomorrow. Yesterday she got her 2nd set of shots and the vet gave her the go ahead to attend a local facility's Puppy Romp and Puppy Classes. Also he said she could start walking in the neighborhood as long as we stuck to sidewalks. Up till now we've been practicing on lead walking indoors and on the back patio. Lucy walks very well at home so I was real curious how things would go out in the real world. Last night we took her for her first offical WALK.



At… Continue

Just wanted to give an update on Lucy, our F1b standard labradoodle puppy. She turned 8 weeks old last Friday. We've had her home for 1 week today. She's learned 'sit' and does them consistently (with or without treats). Her 'hurry, hurry' (to go pee) is down pat too, but her 'busy, busy' (for poo) doesn't seem to compute. We're working on 'down', and 'leave it', but those seem to be difficult concepts for Lucy right now. Her 'off' is really good. The first few days after her arrival she… Continue

We have a new puppy. 4 months of waiting for the gestation, then the delivery, then the weaning, and now, finally our Lucy is home. Day 2 so far. She is a dream come true and both my DH and I can not imagine a more perfect puppy. Neither of us has ever had a puppy together, or separately. Well, I did, when I was 7yrs old, for about a month, before the pup was hit and run over by 2 cars on our busy street (sad, sad tale, but that's a story for another blog).



My grown daughter warned… Continue