Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
From Las Vegas Questions pros and cons of doodle ownership
Greetings Doodlekisses members,
This is my first post here and I hope you seasoned doodle lovers have some thoughts on our doggie. I
love our 16 month old female doodle. However, at times she can be
quite a handful and as a result causes rifts between my husband and
myself. She is very willful and often does not obey commands which we
have been using since she was 9 weeks old. This is the first problem-
she does not consistently obey us. I chalk it up to youth but my
husband insists that she doesnt respect us and therefore only obeys as
she sees fit. She is also very independent. My husband envisioned a
dog that would lay at his feet while he worked, one that would snuggle
and a dog that would show "affection" . We get a tail wag about once a
day and she can do with or with out hanging out with us. I should
mention that we are home 24/7 as we work out of the home. Perhaps she
is just used to us because in the park she gets overly excited to
interact with other humans---she loves people and dogs. We take her to
the park up to 3 times per day to exercise and socialize with other
dogs. We consider ourselves loving and responsible dog owners and hope
that some of these behaviors are indicative of puppyhood and not what
we can come to expect for the next decade or more.
Another notable behavior that we cannot seem to break is the stealing of socks,
undies and other small cloth items. We do our best to keep these items
out of her reach but occasionally she will manage to retrieve
something. This week she vomitted a sock belonging to our 7 year old.
In the last few months she has vomited several items of barbie clothing
at once, and 3 hair scrunchies at once. Obviously this is very
alarming to us and would not want it to be fatal. Can we expect a
lifetime of this goat-like behavior??
To her credit she is quite intelligent and I think her willfulness is attributed to being a puppy.
She is so much fun in the park--retrieving and playing with other dogs-
and people just adore her and she them. It is those times that I have
hope that we have a normal dog. Any thoughts or suggestions??
This is my first post here and I hope you seasoned doodle lovers have some thoughts on our doggie. I
love our 16 month old female doodle. However, at times she can be
quite a handful and as a result causes rifts between my husband and
myself. She is very willful and often does not obey commands which we
have been using since she was 9 weeks old. This is the first problem-
she does not consistently obey us. I chalk it up to youth but my
husband insists that she doesnt respect us and therefore only obeys as
she sees fit. She is also very independent. My husband envisioned a
dog that would lay at his feet while he worked, one that would snuggle
and a dog that would show "affection" . We get a tail wag about once a
day and she can do with or with out hanging out with us. I should
mention that we are home 24/7 as we work out of the home. Perhaps she
is just used to us because in the park she gets overly excited to
interact with other humans---she loves people and dogs. We take her to
the park up to 3 times per day to exercise and socialize with other
dogs. We consider ourselves loving and responsible dog owners and hope
that some of these behaviors are indicative of puppyhood and not what
we can come to expect for the next decade or more.
Another notable behavior that we cannot seem to break is the stealing of socks,
undies and other small cloth items. We do our best to keep these items
out of her reach but occasionally she will manage to retrieve
something. This week she vomitted a sock belonging to our 7 year old.
In the last few months she has vomited several items of barbie clothing
at once, and 3 hair scrunchies at once. Obviously this is very
alarming to us and would not want it to be fatal. Can we expect a
lifetime of this goat-like behavior??
To her credit she is quite intelligent and I think her willfulness is attributed to being a puppy.
She is so much fun in the park--retrieving and playing with other dogs-
and people just adore her and she them. It is those times that I have
hope that we have a normal dog. Any thoughts or suggestions??
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by pamela on
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SCARY! i would like to help, but i have minimal control frankly a couple yrs ago when i took wyatt to a friend's house to care for her dogs & they came near me he peed on my foot to mark me i'm pretty sure...:) so that should give you an idea of my skills as an "alpha" leader...lol hopefully someone else here will be able to help you because that sure sounds scary & living it would be a whole lot worse. GOOD LUCK!
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Permalink Reply by GBK on
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She is very normal :) Both of mine LOVE to steal things, it is a game. I keep all bathroom doors closed ALWAYS as they love to steal tissue (especially the dirty ones) and eat them or run around the house with them leaving bits as they go.....
My Five year old still thinks it is fun to steal a shirt, nighgown, or socks and run around the house trying to get everyone's attention. All of it goes out of sight and out of reach.
We do obedience with both of ours, and it helps a lot, we do a weekly class at Petsmart. If you want to strengthen the bond between you and your dog, I highly recommend "TTouch". You can get the book from the library, and check it out on the web and Youtube. My boy was so very aloof as a puppy, I started spending time touching in this way all over to gain his trust and illicit affection. Now I can't keep him off my lap and he would let me scratch and rub his head for hours :) I also did a class through UNLV for dog massage, and that went over really well, he was only 6 months at the time and he still assumes his massage position :)
I see you are in Vegas, would love to meet up! I sent you a friend link, once you accept I will private mail my cell if you want to talk..... Please know you are not alone, and you both are sooooo lucky to be able to spend all day with your beautiful doodle. She really looks like she is smiling in your profile pic!
Gina, Buddy and Kona -
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Permalink Reply by Willow on
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Thanks GBK,
I will look into TTouch. BTW, that is an adorable doodle in the pic...but she is not ours. In my haste to get a profile going on DK this pic was the easiest for me to get. We found it on the internet and thought it was funny. I will get one up of our Willow asap. Boo Bear is just a nickname I have for her. I would love to go to a doodle romp here perhaps we could meet at one. I have not spent much time on DK but from what I hear most romps are in Henderson...we are in Summerlin. Do you know of any closer to Summerlin??? -
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omg, you big "faker" you...:) boo bear isn't her name & that's not her pic jeez...lol
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This IS a Vegas thread....even a doodle has to protect their anonymity...;)
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Permalink Reply by Eva on
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Dear BooBear and Willow, etc all alias's included.
Like Gina said, that is normal play behavior with the stealing of things. Look on my page for all things my doodle destroyed. It's not good she is ingesting them though obviously, but hopefully comforting that other dogs do this as well.
It sounds like she has a wonderful life, but may be bored. Don't kill me, but get another doodle. Seriously, they love to have playmates, to wrestle and romp with. My hubby couldn't imagine having 2 doodles in the house, but it sure made life easier when we got the second one. He is so much happier with the two of them. They can play for hours and are much more tired, therefore getting into less trouble on their own.
Doing the training classes is a fantastic idea. They love learning and it will increase your bond with her. I did one massage class with Gina, and I took Willow, the big white dog we have and she did enjoy it. I laughed a lot because I was so short, I couldn't do all these poses and stances over the dog. But we had fun. The training is not only for the dog, but for you and the hubby. On how to be consistent with what you are asking the dog to do.
It would be fun to meet up with Willow. I have a Willow also, and she is a brat, pure and simple. Attitude, turns her head away when you want to get their pic. But in a second stance, we are lucky that she is funny, loving and sweet too. Good luck, Eva, Malibu and Willow. -
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Thanks Eva..I just had a glance at your page! Very nice....I cant believe you have a Willow and she looks so much like ours. We would love to meet up with the Vegas doodle crowd..I will keep a look out for the romps here on DK. My hubby could not imagine another doodle pup in the house either but we have definitely considered adopting an adult dog, it would be so good for her.
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I live in the Nothrwest :) We could meet up at a nice park right on Vegas Drive and the I15 right before you hit Rainbow Dr. Some of us meet up there occasionally, it has nice grass all winter. I am actually off on Thursday for Veterans day if you want to meet up, let me know if your free and what time is good. Maybe other's would like to meet up too????
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i've got an early afternoon appt, but i know how you are Gina with the early a.m. meet-ups (as long as you aren't talking an early morning meeting...lol) so it shouldn't be a problem...:) just give me directions & i'll bring the pack to help you unveil the undercover doodle!
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