Charlotte Turns 1 and Her BFF is Peri

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Charlotte turned 1 on September 21.  My how time flies when you are having fun!  Life has been going well, just super busy balancing work with home life.  The dogs are doing GREAT.  We have really been working with them on training and Taquito has not been aggressive toward Charlotte at all lately.  If she approaches him and he's not in the mood, we have taught him to walk away and he gets a LOT of praise when he does that. Last week, she came up and I asked Taquito if Charlotte could pet him. She approached slowly (I constantly am saying "slow and gentle") to her.  He actually rolled over and let her pet him.  This is a HUGE milestone. 

 

Peri, on the other hand, can't get enough of her human sibling. She loves her so much.  Follows me to her room when I feed her, get her dressed, etc...  It's so cute.  I have to admit that we made a mistake a few weeks ago of just assuming Peri would never do anything to hurt Charlotte.  We let Peri have an antler in the playroom while Charlotte was awake. Charlotte approached Peri and before I could stop her, Peri bit Charlotte's forhead.  No worries, she was fine, just very upset.  There was a tiny bruise and she didn't break the skin.  But Peri did get in some trouble, but mainly DH and I blamed ourselves. Since then, we have been extremely diligent and do not allow antlers to be out at all when Charlotte is around. We put them up whenever she is awake and keep them in one spot out of their reach.  That has been working well.  I am almost ashamed to write that this happened (that we let this happen), but I am putting it out there in hopes that other owners read this and think about their part in their doodles obedience, aggressiveness, etc... 9x out of 10 it is OUR FAULT!  That being said, all is good lately and the two ladies seem to be best buds :)

 

But really, the dogs, Charlotte, etc.. are all doing so well. We are very very blessed to have a healthy 1-year old that is walking, jabbering and is actually picking up on things I say (like when I say GENTLE, she slows down and approaches the dogs differently). 

 

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks.

Here is "the Peri chair" from Pottery Barn Kids. We couldn't resist. Charlotte goes up to it, kisses it, pets it :)

 

She did NOT like cake at her birthday party.

 

 

Peri patiently awaits a treat.  What a good girl.

[Miss Ellie]

Oh my word...the CUTENESS meter is off the charts.  Charlotte, Peri and that adorable chair...what a great blog to make everyone smile and get goosebumps while reading.  Happy belated 1st Birthday Sweet Charlotte!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

thanks everyone :) We are having the best time right now.  I am so lucky to have a great husband, beautiful daughter and loving dogs :)

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Happy 1st Birthday Charlotte!  Love the picture of you in "the Peri chair"

[Kyoko]

Happy 1st birthday to Charlotte!! She is soo cute! I love her pink doodle chair!!

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Allyson, your daughter is adorable and a belated Happy 1st Birthday to her!  You are doing all the right things with Charlotte and the dogs and posting it was absolutely the right thing to do.  It is good information for all of us.  I have granddaughters and even though Libby is the most laid back mellow dog we have ever had, you just never know when something can happen.  I love your pictures and the one with the cake is precious:)

[Camilla and Darwin]

Thanks for the update, she is so beautiful and I love these photos! Your daughter and your doodles are very lucky to have such a loving and dedicated mother!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

First, I have to say that Charlotte is absolutely adorable! That picture of her in the Peri chair is too cute for words. And her BFF is pretty darned cute, too!

Second, I am thrilled that she didn't like her birthday cake, lol! (JK...kind of)

Third, the part about Tacky rolling over to let Charlotte pet him gave me goosebumps. Pat yourself on the back for that one, kiddo, I know how diligently you have worked to earn that milestone! 

Fourth, I am grateful to you for being so honest and putting this out there so that all the would-be doodle puppy owners with young kids will maybe understand the amount of vigilance, supervision, and training required.

Happy 1st Birthday, Charlotte! You sure got lucky in the parent department!  

[Bonnie and Kona]

Allyson! Thank you so much for this wonderful blog. I cannot believe Charlotte is a year! I would have sworn that wasn't possible. I love the news that all the babies are getting along well. I am so proud of you for posting about Peri's lapse with the antler. I am sure you are helping others to see the importance of being vigilant about supervising dog/kid time. Lots of love to the birthday girl and Choodle. 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

One year old already...oh my....how time flies. So glad things are going well and everyone is getting along. Loved the pictures. Happy Birthday, Charlotte! P.S. LOVE that chair, too!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

OMD Goodness ... I'm not even sure which is cuter, Charlotte, the Peri Chair, or that little smocked dress!  (OK, Charlotte is the cutest), but all combined they make an adorable picture.  Glad to hear that all is going well.  Really doesn't seem possible it's been a year already.