Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
New Puppy has been christened. And her name is..........................
Maggie.
(Magnolia, mag-o-licious, mag dog, mag-nanimous....)
The short list for names had been whittled down to Iris, Rhoda.......oh yeah.....and Maggie----a previous front-runner now slipped from the spotlight.
We spent the first day together and in my mind I was trying to decide between Iris and Rhoda. My wife was as well.
Neither one was feeling right. But it was just day one; not a normal day. Daisy was being a freak and the little one barely slept all day.
Day two was very hectic as well. The two doggies were working out their relationship. Daisy wanted to be dominant for the first time in her life. And the little one was having none of it. I'm hardly an expert in dog behavior---but there was no rolling over on her back. The little one would jump up and put her paws on Daisy's side and push her! I thought I had read when Daisy was a puppy that paws on another dog like that was a sign of dominance.
One reason the little one is not so willing to give in yet could be her size. She was third in a litter of 14. Even though the breeder says she was not displaying particularly dominant behavior, when you're one of the biggest in your little pond you get used to having things your way. She went to the vet this morning. 12 lbs 5 oz. !! Whoa! Daisy didn't hit 12 lbs until week 14.
(these are medium doodles; the breeder's normal size range for females is 35-45 lbs. I believe we will have one at each end of the spectrum)
But the little one finally figured out that if she didn't want to spend the next two months with Daisy standing over her 24/7 she'd better find a way to get along. They worked at it all day. They learned to play a little. Daisy was impatient because the little one didn't want to play "chase" at 45 mph. (Daisy is very athletic and loves to run all out) They had a few brief episodes of tug. Daisy continued to steal the puppy's new skunk toy at every opportunity.
By 5:00 neither had slept much. They were moving into the wrestling phase. The little one was pretty tough. She would bat at Daisy; charge her. When Daisy would have her pinned she would bite Daisy's ears and hang on----or bite the closest ankle.
They were putting on a display worthy of television wrestling----a lot of false bravado and pulled punches. Daisy would appear to have the little one pinned to the ground. But on closer inspection Daisy's head and shoulders were pressed to the ground and she merely had the little one trapped between her shoulder and her legs. The little one would kick and wriggle and eventually either break loose or growl and nip at Daisy to make her back off. After 40 minutes of this it had escalated to the point of being a threat to the little one's safety. We put the little one in her pen and called for time out.
Neither Iris nor Rhoda was fitting. Out of the blue my wife asked, "Well what about Maggie?"
Duh ! We had both been ignoring that possibility for two days. She WAS Maggie. And has been ever since.
We got a little taste of her personality last night when I gave her an ice cube. Daisy is an ice-monster. Whenever she hears the ice dispenser she comes running to get hers. Maggie didn't know what this was in my hand. She licked it;shook her head; and came back to test it again. After several test licks she took it from my hand and promptly dropped it and jumped back. She batted it with one paw; it scooted across the floor. She chased it; pounced on it; tried to bite it and it scooted away again. She hopped around it and pounced from multiple angles. Once she finally tamed that wild cube she bored of it and moved on.
We're learning what the breeder meant by "busy". As short as puppies' attention spans are-----Maggie's is shorter. She goes for hours from one new adventure to another. Devoting all of about 15-20 seconds to each. It's dizzying.
But today---day three has been much calmer. Daisy has apparently recognized that Maggie is not as much of a threat as she thought. Daisy still got her two mile walk---the little one didn't; she got brushed---the little one didn't; she can jump up on the patio bench and put her head on dad's knee---the little one can't; she got hot dog bits for leaving the little one when called----the little one just got kibble for peeing in the grass. Maybe life won't be so bad after all.
PS- please don't look at Daisy's horrible hair cut. I feel like a failure as a father for letting my girl get butchered like this---and just a week before the puppy. By the time she grows out Maggie won't be little. All the best photo ops lost.
(Magnolia, mag-o-licious, mag dog, mag-nanimous....)
The short list for names had been whittled down to Iris, Rhoda.......oh yeah.....and Maggie----a previous front-runner now slipped from the spotlight.
We spent the first day together and in my mind I was trying to decide between Iris and Rhoda. My wife was as well.
Neither one was feeling right. But it was just day one; not a normal day. Daisy was being a freak and the little one barely slept all day.
Day two was very hectic as well. The two doggies were working out their relationship. Daisy wanted to be dominant for the first time in her life. And the little one was having none of it. I'm hardly an expert in dog behavior---but there was no rolling over on her back. The little one would jump up and put her paws on Daisy's side and push her! I thought I had read when Daisy was a puppy that paws on another dog like that was a sign of dominance.
One reason the little one is not so willing to give in yet could be her size. She was third in a litter of 14. Even though the breeder says she was not displaying particularly dominant behavior, when you're one of the biggest in your little pond you get used to having things your way. She went to the vet this morning. 12 lbs 5 oz. !! Whoa! Daisy didn't hit 12 lbs until week 14.
(these are medium doodles; the breeder's normal size range for females is 35-45 lbs. I believe we will have one at each end of the spectrum)
But the little one finally figured out that if she didn't want to spend the next two months with Daisy standing over her 24/7 she'd better find a way to get along. They worked at it all day. They learned to play a little. Daisy was impatient because the little one didn't want to play "chase" at 45 mph. (Daisy is very athletic and loves to run all out) They had a few brief episodes of tug. Daisy continued to steal the puppy's new skunk toy at every opportunity.
By 5:00 neither had slept much. They were moving into the wrestling phase. The little one was pretty tough. She would bat at Daisy; charge her. When Daisy would have her pinned she would bite Daisy's ears and hang on----or bite the closest ankle.
They were putting on a display worthy of television wrestling----a lot of false bravado and pulled punches. Daisy would appear to have the little one pinned to the ground. But on closer inspection Daisy's head and shoulders were pressed to the ground and she merely had the little one trapped between her shoulder and her legs. The little one would kick and wriggle and eventually either break loose or growl and nip at Daisy to make her back off. After 40 minutes of this it had escalated to the point of being a threat to the little one's safety. We put the little one in her pen and called for time out.
Neither Iris nor Rhoda was fitting. Out of the blue my wife asked, "Well what about Maggie?"
Duh ! We had both been ignoring that possibility for two days. She WAS Maggie. And has been ever since.
We got a little taste of her personality last night when I gave her an ice cube. Daisy is an ice-monster. Whenever she hears the ice dispenser she comes running to get hers. Maggie didn't know what this was in my hand. She licked it;shook her head; and came back to test it again. After several test licks she took it from my hand and promptly dropped it and jumped back. She batted it with one paw; it scooted across the floor. She chased it; pounced on it; tried to bite it and it scooted away again. She hopped around it and pounced from multiple angles. Once she finally tamed that wild cube she bored of it and moved on.
We're learning what the breeder meant by "busy". As short as puppies' attention spans are-----Maggie's is shorter. She goes for hours from one new adventure to another. Devoting all of about 15-20 seconds to each. It's dizzying.
But today---day three has been much calmer. Daisy has apparently recognized that Maggie is not as much of a threat as she thought. Daisy still got her two mile walk---the little one didn't; she got brushed---the little one didn't; she can jump up on the patio bench and put her head on dad's knee---the little one can't; she got hot dog bits for leaving the little one when called----the little one just got kibble for peeing in the grass. Maybe life won't be so bad after all.
PS- please don't look at Daisy's horrible hair cut. I feel like a failure as a father for letting my girl get butchered like this---and just a week before the puppy. By the time she grows out Maggie won't be little. All the best photo ops lost.
Comment
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Comment by LuvMyAbby&Kaela on June 14, 2009 at 10:31pm
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Maggie means Pearl. So it is perfect for her! She sounds very loved and you sound like a proud papa! And that haircut! What were you thinking!!?? j/k ;o)
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Comment by Linda,Yankee & Finn on June 14, 2009 at 6:01pm
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Sounds like you had lots of fun watching their interactions. Puppy play is just so cute. I'm sure Maggie & Daisy will be best friends and adore each other. Good choice of names.
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Comment by Michele, Biscuit & Mo on June 14, 2009 at 5:44pm
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Maggie is a great name! And she and Daisy look so happy together. Enjoy!
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Comment by Adrianne Matzkin on June 14, 2009 at 5:07pm
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I am living vicariously thru your blog. Please keep it up. I am sitting and smileing & can actually 'see' them playing. There is truly nothing like puppy play. Have fun with Maggie and Daisy!
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Comment by Kai Doodle (Kathy & Keith) on June 14, 2009 at 4:38pm
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Cute picture of the two of them.Love the name!
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Comment by Janie on June 14, 2009 at 3:41pm
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Great name...they will be great pals soon. Keep us posted.
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Comment by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on June 14, 2009 at 3:30pm
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Welcome, little Magnolia! I think Maggie is the perfect name as well. That was the name of the lead character in "Million Dollar Baby", lol!
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Comment by Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey on June 14, 2009 at 3:03pm
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What a great name. After reading your post, Maggie is indeed the perfect name. Welcome Maggie-Magnolia!
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