My Doodle at 7 Months...how things have changed!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I was thinking this morning about how different life is with Guinness now that he's through the young puppy stage. I thought it might give hope to all the new puppy moms and dads who are wondering when they'll get their lives back. I remember times a few months ago when I felt like taking care of our doodle pup was a full time job...and it seemed like I was always worried about something. Things are different now, and in many ways I'm different too. At seven months, we have him on a great potty schedule. He can sleep through the night without a peep (or pee) - this morning we woke him after 9 hours. He's still sleeping in his crate, and that feels "right" to him, so no more whining. The rest of the day we take him out every three to four hours, and no accidents inside. He knows now what he can and can't chew...but we still keep the socks and underwear out of his reach since those are his favorite chew toys. He has all his "big boy" teeth, and that seems to really help with the chewing. He knows now never to get on the furniture unless I ask him to...although he will sit at me feet and wiggle and look sad if I don't let him up. We're over the "runny poop" stage. He eats well now, although we try to keep in interesting by switching up the brands and adding chicken/cottage cheese to some meals. He knows he has to be brushed every day, and is resigned to that fact. He'll sit quietly now, although I know he hates every minute of it. He no longer runs away when I get the brush. He still jumps when we come home or when we have company, but now he'll "sit" pretty quickly if we turn our backs on him. He knows that's the only way he's going to get attention. His training is going really well. I now have a trainer who has taught me how to gain his respect. His consistency in highly distracted situations (like agility training classes) is still not there, but we're working on it. He needs lots more practice in these situations. Finally, I'm so much more confident and comfortable now. As a new puppy, I worried so much about whether I was doing the right thing. Now I know that there are really no "right" or "wrong" things...we are learning this together. I was always thinking about whether or not he was "happy"...now I better understand how silly that was. I've been reading "Inside of a Dog" which has really helped me with that. So now we're at the point where having a Doodle was everything I had hoped it would be. We still have more work to do so we will be able to take him "everywhere", but that's okay. Now I know we will get to that point...and soon. I'm so grateful for this website...it helped me so much during those times over the past four months when I was confused and even discouraged. So thank you everyone who has generously shared your insights. I know there will be new questions through the "teenage" period and I'm glad to know I can come here for great advice.

[Holly Doodle]

This was very inspirational :). You really caught my attention when you mentioned respect. My husband has started saying he feels like Holly doesn't respect and/or want to please us. She gets upset quickly and jumps, barks, and bears teeth at us like we're strangers who are trying to harm her. We never know if what we're doing is "right" or if it's making the problem worse! It's been hard to deal with, I'm used to puppies being so loving and always wanting to please, but I don't feel like we've fully gained her respect and trust. I can't wait until we feel more comfortable with our choices.

[Kevin Poole, Penny & Ozzy]

You're so right. Penny our GoldenDoodle is 6 months old, and most of the time seems so grown up, it's nice to have more time on my hands, but the puppiness seemed way too short.

[Libby & Bentley]

Thanks for that..I look forward to the days when we are through the young puppy stage. We've been blessed with a well trained and well behaved pup...but I do look forward to life being a bit easier :)

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Hannah has been the "GOOD" girl...Honey..is my little "DEVIL" child..lol. With the two of them together it's unbeatable fun. I think as they get older and you reflect back on the puppy years... All of the "What did you do now's" become "I remember When!" and even though we are glad they are finished with the puppy stage, we still miss a piece of it, but they are tucked away in our hearts forever.....

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

With you...Peri is approaching 7 months and I could not be happier with her progress. A few months ago I had some breakdowns! So glad DK is here for us! Adolescence is looming....:)