Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
10 weeks old and 2 weeks in!
Penny has been with us now for 2 whole weeks, and seems to be growing at an alarming rate. Actually alarming is too strong a word, as we don't care how big she grows, maybe I should say one helluva rate. Anyway she is settling in nicely, we love having her, more joy to an already happy household of two adults (ha, adults!), and 3 indoor kitties, speaking of which, our eldest Bun, and youngest Potsy have kind of got used to Penny being around. They still treat her with some contempt, but generally life is almost back to normal for those two, Potsy even encourages Penny to chase her, but then gets the high ground and swats at her with her clawless front paws. That could be fun if it still carries on when Penny’s bigger - ha ha! Skippy however, our middle cat, is still having none of it, spends a lot of time out of Penny’s way, and when they do confront, Skippy lets out this guttural growl that sounds like she’s possessed, doesn’t bother Penny though, apart from the first time she found Skippy under our bed, Skippy lunged at her and Penny backed away into our bathroom and peed herself - Ooops!
When we bought all the puppy accessories before Penny arrived, we only bought one water dish, not thinking of getting one for the outside deck. So we put down a cereal dish full of water for her, that didn’t work, Penny kept putting her paw on it and tipping it over, then laid in the pool of water. So I went out an bought a nice heavy ceramic dish, on getting it home my wife Jeri went to fill it with water, it was a little dusty so I said “Aren’t you going to wash it first?” - The reply “She’s a puppy, she eats f@#king dirt!” - and there you have one reason why I adore my wife, no mincing her words. She did rinse it out first however, but to prove her point, the water dish went down on the deck, Penny came up to it, took a sniff, a little taste, then promptly laid down by the dish and dangled her dirty front paws in the dish like she was having a pedicure (or is that a peticure? - ha ha!), and proceeded to take a drink.
The walks around the block are going well, trying to make it 3 times a day, and Penny looks forward to them. One reader last week was worried that as she hasn’t had her second lot of shots, maybe I shouldn’t be going out with her yet? Rest assured, I keep her on a short leash, no sniffing or picking up stuff, she’s doing well.
The constant nipping we experienced at first has diminished somewhat, only seems to be its worst when she’s tired and just like a toddler refuses to take the hint and go to sleep. We still have the odd pee accident in the house, just doesn’t seem to be getting the hang of asking yet, mostly we see the signs (the sudden disinterest in us and wandering off into the corner) and we take her out, but just occasionally, she catches us out, but I’m sure we’ll get there. We have to keep telling ourselves, she’s only 10 weeks old!
Penny likes to play in the water coming out from the sprinkler, it’s so funny to watch it get her when she’s not expecting it. A couple of days ago, we had just watered the whole of the back yard, we were expecting some visitors, friends from Texas we haven’t seen in two years. Just before they arrived, I went outside and Penny appeared on the deck with slimy green front legs and belly, she’d been digging in the wet moss behind the AC unit. She looked disgusting, but oddly quite happy with herself - hee hee! Anyway I tried to wipe it off with a wet cloth, but to no avail, then our visitors arrived, Dave with brand new white tennis shoes, and Jean with white shorts on - uh oh! Thankfully they weren’t too concerned, after all they have a six month old Great Dane, and surprise, surprise, Penny didn’t jump all over them, and all was well. We sat out on the deck for an hour, Penny dozed at our feet, and I was amazed to find that when Penny’s fur had dried, there was no staining at all, she looked just like she’d had a bath, apart from her little black nose, which seems to stay perpetually muddy, see photo here.
I’ve also managed to teach Penny to fetch. We have a miniature tennis ball with a squeaker in it (handy!), I get her to sit, then say “fetch”, throw the ball, and she runs and wrestles with it. That was it for the first few days of trying, but now when I say “Bring the ball”, she brings it back looking so happy with herself, we can do that for about five or six times before she gets bored. Haven’t got her to voluntarily drop it yet, working on that, but she’s not possessive with it, so it’s easy to get it off her.
All in all, we definitely made the right choice, she is adorable, my wife loves the “dopey” look on her face when she’s sitting and looking at you, and her little chubby butt. She’s had Dobermans in the past, and is really appreciating the difference. I’m going to try and post weekly updates if you guys keep reading them. Stay tuned.
When we bought all the puppy accessories before Penny arrived, we only bought one water dish, not thinking of getting one for the outside deck. So we put down a cereal dish full of water for her, that didn’t work, Penny kept putting her paw on it and tipping it over, then laid in the pool of water. So I went out an bought a nice heavy ceramic dish, on getting it home my wife Jeri went to fill it with water, it was a little dusty so I said “Aren’t you going to wash it first?” - The reply “She’s a puppy, she eats f@#king dirt!” - and there you have one reason why I adore my wife, no mincing her words. She did rinse it out first however, but to prove her point, the water dish went down on the deck, Penny came up to it, took a sniff, a little taste, then promptly laid down by the dish and dangled her dirty front paws in the dish like she was having a pedicure (or is that a peticure? - ha ha!), and proceeded to take a drink.
The walks around the block are going well, trying to make it 3 times a day, and Penny looks forward to them. One reader last week was worried that as she hasn’t had her second lot of shots, maybe I shouldn’t be going out with her yet? Rest assured, I keep her on a short leash, no sniffing or picking up stuff, she’s doing well.
The constant nipping we experienced at first has diminished somewhat, only seems to be its worst when she’s tired and just like a toddler refuses to take the hint and go to sleep. We still have the odd pee accident in the house, just doesn’t seem to be getting the hang of asking yet, mostly we see the signs (the sudden disinterest in us and wandering off into the corner) and we take her out, but just occasionally, she catches us out, but I’m sure we’ll get there. We have to keep telling ourselves, she’s only 10 weeks old!
Penny likes to play in the water coming out from the sprinkler, it’s so funny to watch it get her when she’s not expecting it. A couple of days ago, we had just watered the whole of the back yard, we were expecting some visitors, friends from Texas we haven’t seen in two years. Just before they arrived, I went outside and Penny appeared on the deck with slimy green front legs and belly, she’d been digging in the wet moss behind the AC unit. She looked disgusting, but oddly quite happy with herself - hee hee! Anyway I tried to wipe it off with a wet cloth, but to no avail, then our visitors arrived, Dave with brand new white tennis shoes, and Jean with white shorts on - uh oh! Thankfully they weren’t too concerned, after all they have a six month old Great Dane, and surprise, surprise, Penny didn’t jump all over them, and all was well. We sat out on the deck for an hour, Penny dozed at our feet, and I was amazed to find that when Penny’s fur had dried, there was no staining at all, she looked just like she’d had a bath, apart from her little black nose, which seems to stay perpetually muddy, see photo here.
I’ve also managed to teach Penny to fetch. We have a miniature tennis ball with a squeaker in it (handy!), I get her to sit, then say “fetch”, throw the ball, and she runs and wrestles with it. That was it for the first few days of trying, but now when I say “Bring the ball”, she brings it back looking so happy with herself, we can do that for about five or six times before she gets bored. Haven’t got her to voluntarily drop it yet, working on that, but she’s not possessive with it, so it’s easy to get it off her.
All in all, we definitely made the right choice, she is adorable, my wife loves the “dopey” look on her face when she’s sitting and looking at you, and her little chubby butt. She’s had Dobermans in the past, and is really appreciating the difference. I’m going to try and post weekly updates if you guys keep reading them. Stay tuned.
Comment
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Comment by Kevin Poole, Penny & Ozzy on June 26, 2009 at 3:18pm
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ODD?, yup we have...hee hee! Way to go Molly - Gus, you need to work on it, lazy boy!
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Comment by Michele Barton on June 26, 2009 at 3:08pm
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Hey Kevin, Gus and Molly must've known I was talking about them, because I just took them outside and guess what? Molly played fetch as if she were an old pro! I couldn't believe it. I held Gus back while she fetched a few times, then gave him a turn. He ran after and grabbed the ball, but then just laid down with it. Repeated the cycle, same results. Boys, hmmm. I was going to use 2 balls, but I couldn't find the other one, but I think you're right, they'd probably go after the same one. P.S. Concerning this site, Mike has asked me "You sure have a bad case of ODD (obsessive doodle disorder), don't you?"
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Thanks Michele, my wife thinks I'm a little obsessed, but I'm enjoying the comments I get back, plus I'm not as busy work-wise as she is, so it's good for me to use my creativity in a different way. Playing fetch with 2 puppies is always gonna be tough, because they're always in competition with each other. Have you tried throwing 2 balls? Mind you they'd probably both go after the same one.
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Keep those blogs coming Kevin! I can't get Gus and Molly to fetch, they just pounce on the ball and then start wrestling with each other.
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Way too cute sometimes, kind of difficult to get mad with her when she's eating flowers in the garden etc!
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Comment by Linda,Yankee & Finn on June 25, 2009 at 6:32pm
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Love to hear how Penny is doing. Is she getting cuter or what?
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Thanks Adrianne, that'll be the next command to learn huh?
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Comment by Adrianne Matzkin on June 25, 2009 at 4:55pm
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I definitely want updates.
Handy having that squeaky ball handy!! i taught Samantha 'drop it' - we started with the ball but use it all the time with sticks, etc... Anytime Penny drops the ball, give her a treat. Won't take her long to figure it out and you can use the throwing the ball again as the treat.
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