Guinness and Murphy "Stuff"

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm totally in the mood for a Doodle blog tonight, so I started to think about the past week with my guys, and here's what I came up with....

MURPHY IS A "TEENY BOPPER"
Whenever my guys go through a change in their behavior, I always look at the developmental stages to help me understand what they may be thinking. Well, Murph is definitely demonstrating some real "interesting changes", so I looked at the development stages, and here's what I found...

What is going on:

* The puppy will become a free and independent thinker.
* The puppy will continue to review the pack order.
* The puppy will be very energetic.
* The puppy will be exuberant and enthusiastic.
* They turn into clowns with teeth.
* They will delight in learning new and fun things.

All of these wonderful things are supposed to happen at 7 months, and Murph is only 6 months...I guess he's precocious. He has clearly become a free and independent thinker. He's decided that he's running the show around here. All the furniture now belongs to him. I'm a big fan of throw pillows....they're all over my sofas, and I love them. This week he decided the sofas are HIS, but he'd prefer no throw pillows. So, he jumps up and systematically tosses the pillows on the floor and then stretches out to get comfortable. He's definitely questioning pack order...not with me, but very much with DH. He's not challenging him...just ignoring whatever he says. He is absolutely a wacky fun loving guy in a VERY big boy body. As a matter of fact, he himself seems to be surprised by how big he really is. I laugh every time I look at him....he's just so goofy. Guinness went through this stage too, but Guinness knew enough to be very sneaky. He didn't challenge things outright...he just kept his "naughty behaviors" to when I wasn't looking. Actually, this is a lot like my daughters during their teen years. One challenged everything while the other was always very sweet (but now I found out was doing everything her sister did, but I just didn't know about it).

Murph has also decided that he will do ANYTHING in his power to be sure we are totally humiliated. So, he's decided to poop right on the road during our walks. We always take him to the "potty spot" first, but he "saves it up". Then half way through the walk he poops in the street. Cars passing by always get a big kick out of seeing us trying to scoop up the poop from the road, and then it's always a pleasant walk back home with the "stinking" poop bag. I swear I've seen him smile while we're trying to scoop it up.

GUINNESS HAS THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ON HIS SHOULDERS

Guinness has always been pretty serious, and sometimes intense, but lately it's been getting worse. I can just look at him and know he's worrying about something. So, again I looked up what might be going on developmentally....

What is going on:

* The dog may become more turf protective.
* Strangers may be greeted with barking.
* Barking at noises, birds, cars, butterflies, pretty much everything he believe worthy of attention.
* Playing with other dogs may escalate to fighting.
* Same sex confrontations of other dogs can occur.
* Once again, checking the pack order to see if he can move up.

He is definitely VERY worried about protecting us and his turf. He always seems to be on "high alert" listening for different sounds outside. When he hears something (actually anything) he's running for the door with his tail straight up in the air, and usually barking. Today he got territorial with a little moth when I had him outside to go potty....tail up and barking....I'm not sure what he thought the moth was going to do to us. When he hears something outside and reacts, it scares Murph to death...he stands behind and waits for his "big" brother to take care of things. There haven't been any confrontations with other dogs, but I'm tuned to that now and will be watching (and probably a little more cautious for a while).

I find this whole "development thing" totally fascinating. I love watching them grow and develop.

Lately I've also been really seeing how in tune they are with all my body language. I had been noticing that every now and then they would both come over to me (no matter what they were doing) and sit and look up at me. I thought it was sweet, but never really thought much about it. Yesterday I finally figured it out. It's when I put my hands in my pocket. When we're training I keep the treats in my pocket, so because they saw me put my hands in my pocket, they thought there were "treats to be had". They are so smart, and they never miss a thing that I do. I'm going to start watching more closely, because I'm betting there are other signals that I'm giving them that I'm completely unaware of.

Guinness and Murph are finally both very healthy. They are now "parasite free" and are pooping like normal dogs. There have been no accidents in the house in over a week. I'm so enjoying knowing that they both are feeling well. I feel like I've gained all kinds of free time now that I don't have to shampoo the carpet daily. They are still great buddies, although they do love to tease each other, and their personalities are totally different. A great example of this is when we play "fetch". I throw the ball, Murphy sits down and lets Guinness go chase it, Guinness runs back to bring it to me, and Murphy takes it away. He gets the ball without having to exert himself in any way. What could be better? It really infuriates Guinness, because his favorite part of the whole game is dropping the ball in front of me. It takes all of the fun out of the game for Guinness. I'm going to have to start giving him some time to play without his brother.

So, that's my Guinness and Murph update blog for tonight. One thing is for sure....there is never, ever a dull moment when you're living with a Doodle.

[Carol and Banjo]

Just loved reading this....your guys are wonderful doods Jane! I love reading about their antics!!! Banjo sounds alot like Murphy - he is coming up to his 6 months and has just recently decided that couches and chairs are loads of fun to jump up on...and off of...and on to...and off of......he also enjoys challenging my DH. It's so much fun watching all of the changes. No dull moments for sure!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

What a great update. You are so lucky to have your two boys - they seem to be such wonderful doods!

[The Berry Oaks Doodle Ranch]

Thanks Jane for your update....we love reading your stories. Guinness & Rosco are too becoming buddies. But, its' too soon for his true personalty has not come out yet.

[Camilla and Darwin]

The part about Murphy cracks me up, as usual. :-) thanks for the update, I find the developmental stuff fascinating too!

[Laura & Chewie]

What a great blog post, Jane. It's always so much fun hearing about your guys!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think it was originally published on DK, and I printed it out, but now I can't find it. So, I looked again, and I found it on the International Doodle Owners Group Facebook site under their Discussion section (Doodle Development Periods). I've found it to be helpful in understanding my guys as they grow. This is the site...

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/topic.php?uid=349161650009&topic=15136

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's always a treat to hear about the the adventures of Guinness and Murphy! They are both very lucky to have a mom who is so aware of what's going on with them. The best news, of course, is that both are healthy, and the green machine is getting a rest.
Murphy the clown and Guinness the protector both make me smile every time I read about them. Give them each a hug from me.
PS: Jackdoodle says Good luck, Murph, with the throw pillow elimination project! My mom keeps picking them up and putting them back on the sofa, too, but I am sure that one of these days she will realize that they really look better on the floor!

[Christine & Shelby]

Love this.... out of curiousity - where are you gathering your developmental milestone information? BTW - Shelby wants to tell Guinness and Murphy that getting hosed down isn't all that bad! :o) Try it... it lots of fun, especially when you shake and get your mom wet too!

[Donna K & Quincy]

Sounds like fun times. Murphy sounds like he is going to make a great boss. Get someone else to do the work while you sit back and enjoy the credit. Guinness is probably trying to figure our a way to get Murphy to do his own dirty work and get his own ball.