Thanks and First Time in the Water

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

Hi everyone, and Happy Easter to those who celebrate it.  I was just thinking about how fortunate I feel to have found this site and all of you.  Some of you may know that I originally got Lola with my now-ex fiancée.  Unfortunately that relationship did not work out, for a number of reasons too personal to get into here.  My point is that I am a single doodle parent, and there are times when things happen with Lola that I feel like I just have to share.  Moments too precious to keep to myself, because they are the moments that really make life worth living.

My friends and family love Lola but understandably aren't always interested in hearing every detail about her eating, sleeping, training, pooping etc.. Through the miracle of the Internet, this site provides a place where I can do that.  I've never met any of you in real life or even heard your voices on the phone, yet we have such wonderfully genuine and supportive interactions.  I'm feeling very grateful for that and thought I would express my appreciation to Adina for creating this site and to the rest of you and your doodles just for being out there in doodlespace.

Which brings me to my main point.  Today was the first really nice sunny day here, so I skipped work in the afternoon and took Lola to the beach.  I've been looking forward to spring to find out how Lola swims and handles herself in the water.

I'm pleased to report that her first attempts at water retrieving went off without a hitch.  At first she was a little timid, but she picked it up quickly.  Of course I'm not surprised, but still it was so cool to watch her discover those instincts.  I didn't have any fancy decoys or anything.  Just used a tennis ball and kept throwing it into the water, a little further each time.  I had one of those launchers and eventually was able to use that to put it pretty far out there.  We were at a place where it is shallow for a long way out, much further than I could throw the ball with the launcher - so there wasn't really any swimming involved.  I figured that was a good idea anyway, one step at a time.  The water wasn't too cold, and we were lucky because there were a number of other people there doing the same thing with their retrievers.

Lola was so cute about the whole thing.  There was one golden that was probably 5 or 6 years old that Lola kept watching to try to follow her example.  Except that for whatever reason Lola would do a bounding gallop into and out of the water, two legs at a time like she was trying to jump over the water and back.  Each "step" was really a jump, like an agility dog jumping over an obstacle.  Very, very cute.  I did get some of this on video and am going to try to edit into something that shows the whole experience from start to finish.  I've never done any real video editing before but thought I would give it a try.  Maybe there's a forum on here for that - I haven't looked.

I am so in awe of this pup and the dog she is becoming, how she handles herself and is constantly learning.

Lola is an intensely dominant and gentle dog.  I knew from watching her with her littermates that she would be very confident and dominant, but I did not appreciate how much so.  Usually there is another dog that will try to challenge her, and she is wonderfully good natured about it.  She never gets angry or aggressive, just playfully and lovingly does what is necessary to communicate her status.  She will mimic the behavior of other dogs, as if to communicate with them in their own language.

For example, today there was a cattle dog that had the silly idea that it would try to herd Lola.  It started with its routine, barking, circling, etc.  Within a minute or two, Lola was herding the cattle dog!  Priceless.

There was a young male greyhound-type dog that apparently thought Lola was cute.  Of course, she is cute, so who can blame him?  He wanted to get on top of Lola but she wouldn’t have any of that!  She couldn't outrun him, so she outsmarted him by luring him in and using her moves to frustrate him every time he would pounce.  Lola is VERY agile and smaller than most of the dogs that challenge her, and she uses that to her advantage.  It's really quite inspiring.  Within a few minutes - and a few teeth flashes on either side - the other dog surrendered and was dutifully following Lola around like a good little suitor.

Then there was an angry little dachshund that was barking at Lola and showing his teeth.  Of course, Lola would never stoop to that level.  No matter what the dachshund would do, Lola would just give him her very exaggerated play bow.  After a few times of that, even the angry little dachshund could not resist her charms.  A few minutes later they were playing and having a great time.

Lola does submission in an equally classy manner.  And there are dogs and people whose energy is too far gone for her to help.  In either case, she just won't go there.

At one point, a young German Shepherd came flying in and stole the ball that Lola and her Golden Retriever friend had been playing with, to try to get them to chase.  Lola chased for a little bit, until the German Shepherd got too close to some shady looking people and their fighting-breed dogs.  Even while seemingly distracted, Lola was so aware of her surroundings.  As soon as she got within a safe distance, she slammed on the brakes as though there were an invisible fence and looked back at me for instructions.  So much common sense in a 7-month-old pup.

Lastly, what would a great leader be without compassion?  There was a German Shepherd that was fourteen years old and had severe arthritis in his back legs.  Lola was so sweet, cuddling up next to him for a bit, licking him and then frolicking around in the water where he could see - as if for him to live vicariously through her and share some of her abundant puppy energy.  The old German Shepherd took a liking to me and kept "doggie hugging" me by standing close to me and leaning against my legs.  Lola is usually on the jealous side when other dogs show affection to me.  Never in an aggressive way, but she will always make her presence known by doing something cute to try to get my attention.  But this was different, as if she knew that this was a good dog who probably didn't have a lot more beautiful spring days left.  Lola was perfectly content to let him stand by me while she ran around and played.

Everywhere we go, there are dogs and owners that just don't seem in sync.  People chasing after their dog, calling the dog's name repeatedly to try to get it to come.  People engaging in negotiations with their dog to get it to sit or down or whatever.  With Lola I usually don't even have to use words.  Just a few noises, glances or gestures between us and we're always on the same page.

I had another dog once that I loved very, very much.  I still do and always will.  But I've never had a dog that actually teaches me to be a better person the way Lola does - on a daily basis. 

[Oliver & Elizabeth]

Lola is totally adorable! You should be proud of yourself for raising such a great little girl!

[BettyAnn, Holmes & Lucy]

Love hearing about Lola! And the other dogs on here too. This week I have had family in town and none of them are dog people- so I have been biting my tongue because I tend to talk, a lot, about my puppy too :) Thanks for sharing and I would love to see pics of Lola in the water.

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

I just re-read what I wrote below.  I suppose that technically I'm never 100% confident that she understands, because otherwise I would never be able to introduce anything new.  However, I do shape new behaviors very, very gradually and by building upon existing behaviors, and I am also very gradual about introducing new environments and new distractions - so that even when I'm asking for something new, I'm usually at least 95% certain she will understand what I want.  If I'm wrong and she does not understand, we take a step back and find a way to introduce it even more gradually.

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

Lynda - you'll get no complaint from me about the legal brief approach.  I am a lawyer, and I tend to organize my thoughts and write in numbered lists as well.  I'm sure Lola likes legal briefs as well, albeit to eat them.

Pat - I know that dogs go through a second fear stage (not sure if that is the exact technical name).  It's been so long since I had a puppy, I do not remember exactly when it occurs.  I'm definitely seeing some of that with Lola, though - especially in terms of barking and getting jumpy when there's no reason to.  It's possible she would test boundaries, but I don't really give her a chance because of the way I train.  My rule of thumb is to never give a command unless I'm 90% certain she will respond, or 100% certain that she understands what I want and I have a means of enforcing what I want.  On those rare occasions when my 90% certainty is wrong, it's really never a problem of understanding but rather a problem of my not being in a position to enforce.  In that case, I leave it alone and revisit later, under different circumstances where I have the necessary control to reinforce.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Beautiful blog, Jay! JD and I also enjoyed the first nice day of spring here yesterday. Nice promise of things to come! 

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

What a lovely blog! Thank you for sharing the special bond you two have and all the details of your beautiful day :).

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

You sound very proud of your Lola as you should be.  It sounds like you have an amazing companion, hopefully for many years to come!  Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

[Donna K & Quincy]

Oh boy, you a hooked. :>) I understand totally and it is really wonderful to have these amazing friends on DK to share our triumphs and failures with and they get it. What a wonderful day, I really enjoyed reading about it, thank you for sharing it with us. No beach for us, we still have snow. :<(

[Pat and Traveler]

Jay, I think it was around Lola's age, which is what triggered the memory of that time.  Trav started testing boundaries--not wanting to come into the yard after a walk, nipping hands and arms, grabbing and running with pillows and things he'd never touched before, barking, etc.  I didn't know dogs went through this stage, and maybe not all of them do, but I was really startled.  I don't recall that it lasted very long--maybe a couple of months. 

[Lynda Kamrath]

Great blog and lovely to read.  You sound like a first-time parent.  Of course your family and friends get tired of hearing about her, just like they would hearing about your fantastic baby, but here at DoodleKisses we all understand because we have been (or still are) at the same place.

A beach is a wonderful place for your doodle.  I am a live-long swimmer but always worried about my dogs in the ocean.  My youngest (an ALD) loves to bound through the water and will chase after anything, but does not retrieve.  I worried that he would get carried out and had decided that I would not go into the water to try to retrieve him if he got into trouble.  So...swimming lessons!  There is a canine rehab center near where we live and they have the equipment for rehab including a swimming pool.  This center is attached to an animal hospital and advertises rehab, grooming, and boarding.  The physical therapist will give a dog private swimming lessons and after (s)he learns to use the pool correctly (getting in and out on the stairs, retrieving, etc.) then they are cleared to come for "free swims" on Saturday mornings with an assistant therapist.  It was great for us.  Take a look at the photos on my page and you can see the facility and the lessons.  Oh, BTW, the physical therapist told me NOT to use tennis balls because they will wear down the dogs teeth.  There are better things to use for fetching.

And my last point (is this beginning to sound like a legal brief?) is the natural intelligence of these pups.  My first doodle, Hondo, never was in a fight in his life.  He would wrestle and play with his family dogs, but never would play rough with other dogs.  If they were aggressive with him, he would just lay down like he was taking a rest.  He would play nicely and run and chase, but never fought or played roughly.  And he was 105 pounds.  He was very aware of his surroundings and would always stand in the car or sit and watch where we were going.  When we got near a destination that he knew, he would start crying with excitement.  He really loved the front seat of my little sports car and was a dedicated "shotgun rider" so was quite disappointed when we got another car (Ford Freestyle) for our dog car.  He had to ride in the back with the other dogs.  You can also see his photos on my photo page.

Yep, we all understand where you are coming from with your doodle addiction.  These are the greatest dogs!