What a difference a year makes! Encouragement for new puppy owners....

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

I've been in a very "reflective" state of mind lately, and thought I would share some of these thoughts with all of you puppy owners. Bear with me... this might take a while....

Last year at this time, I was a mess, to be honest. My dad, whom I was super close to, had just passed away unexpectantly. The grief was nearly unbearable. Two weeks later we brought home Winnie. We had been planning her homecoming for months- reading up on puppy care, watching training videos, etc. Both my husband and I grew up with dogs, and I raised a pup myself 20 years ago. We were sooooo excited! I knew that it was going to be stressful, but I was blindsided by the amount of mental energy that it required to raise a very active and mouthy puppy. Mental energy that I didn't always have! My physical energy was waning, too. After a long day at work, I just wanted to rest on the couch in the evening. Not possible with Winnie around! :-)

She potty trained fairly quickly and learned all of the basic commands easily. That wasn't the so much the stressful part. The mouthiness/nipping/biting/crocodile behavior nearly drove me insane. I could not touch her, cuddle with her, play with her, take her out to potty or attempt to walk her on a leash without getting ripped pant legs/skirts/nightgowns and multiple bite marks on my hands and arms. It seemed that no amount of redirecting, training, "time outs," encouraging, pleading, scolding and praying would stop the behavior. I'm a fairly patient person, but this was putting me over the edge. And, I'm ashamed to admit, drove me to drink waaay too much wine on more than one occasion! :-) My husband and I have a great relationship. But, we found ourselves being more irritable and short with each other because of her. I was ready to throw in the towel and call the breeder to take her back. But everyone kept encouraging us and telling us that it would get better. A neighbor down the street (that has beautifully trained dogs) would see the fiasco of trying to walk a puppy attached to my pant leg and would yell his encouragement. We had all sorts of cheerleaders along our journey.

And then, it happened. One day I took her out to potty, and my pant leg was no longer enticing. I noticed that my hands and arms had less bite marks. I could wear my long flowing nightgowns in the evening and she didn't even notice. She would sit next to me and let me pet her. Gradually we could walk around the entire block without having her hanging from her leash or attacking my leg. A miracle was happening!

Fast forward one year.... Winnie is an absolute gem. She is a gentle dog that loves to cuddle and snuggle. She is well behaved, has had run of the house since age 6 months, and is the apple of my eye. My neighbor down the street smiles whenever he sees me riding bike with her trotting loose lease beside me. Something I never dreamed I'd be able to do with her! 

She's not perfect- no dog (or human) is. But, all of the frustration I had last year at this time is gone. And, she has been a blessing to our family in a way that I never thought possible. I'm quite sure that my dad would have loved her....

 

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Lori, so happy your little doodle turned out to be just what you needed!
Thanks for sharing, I sure this is very encouraging for new puppy owners.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

She sure did! 

[Yvette & Emma]

Hi Lori-

Emma just turned 2 and she is a handful. We love her unbelievably...I have had 7 other dogs prior to her all Shelties and one Collie I adopted at 8. So I thought I was pretty advanced in my dog training methods. Nothing prepared me for Emma!

I found myself with issues I had never seen or encountered with her. My husband and I were beyond frustrated times. Methods I had used before were useless. Grooming was a whole another story.

Emma was different as in not destructive at all.. she has never chewed or so much as looked at anything to damage other than the occasional stuffed animal casualty. She has had full run of the house since she was 5 months. Shelites and Collie were crazy destructive from carpets, baseboards, shoes, socks .. list goes on.

Emma struggled with the same as Winnie.. biting.. biting.. biting.. ..and ugh the walking on leash..I tried every leash possible. Front harness, back harness, Easy walker .. etc.. nothing worked. She would pull and pull and at 55 lbs not easy on the arm.

I am sad to say I just sort of gave up for a bit as I had other personal issues that were consuming my time. Then I just worked with a Pet Behaviorist last month.. and it was amazing!!! She showed me what collar to use.. which was one of the ones I had bought in my early quest I was just not using it correctly.

In 1/ 1/2 hour session she showed me how to make her heel, not scare every dog in sight(oh yes did I mention she loves to bark and scare other dogs and people on our walks). I love taking her on walks every day now.

Behaviorist says she is "Resource Guarding" me this is why she barks at strangers and dogs. This we are still currently working on...

Thanks for sharing your story Lori. Doodles are amazing but come with all kinds of challenges as I am learning and DoodleKisses has been amazing resource.

 

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

My other dog (a Samoyed) was a chewer, too! Carpet, walls, furniture, etc. She also suffered from terrible separation anxiety. She couldn't be trusted out of her kennel while we were gone until she was well over a year old. And, even then I would frequently come home to torn up magazines, etc.

Winnie is the complete opposite! Even though she was very mouthy, she never chewed up anything- just me and my clothes! :-) I love not having to keep her in a kennel all day. 

[Glenda & Lizzy Lu]

Lori, so happy your story has a happy ending. Totally understand the point of frustration and the continual drain on your patience and energy. My husband and I are very active, retired 68 year olds. We just thought we were ready to deal with a puppy! If activity keeps you young we have it made. Our little land shark is everything you mentioned about Winnie and 50 lbs at 9 mo. It is so encouraging to hear that better days are coming. We are certainly totally in love with Lizzy Lu but looking forward to a more calm and predictable companion. Don't know what we did with our time before she came to live with us, we must have really been bored!

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

"Land shark"- I love it!  I always felt kind of silly telling my friends and coworkers that my puppy was driving me to the brink of total frustration. But, it was the unrelenting nature of it- day in and day out with no end in sight that made it so difficult. Your Lizzy Lu will grow up, too! :-)  

[VScott & Lloyd]

Thanks for your post. We just got our little guy last weekend and he's already ripped a dress and a pair of sweatpants! I'm glad they outgrow it :)

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

I had a pair of old thick corderoy pants that I called my "Puppy Pants." I put them on the second I got home from work, and wore them whenever I took her on walks. Eventually they ended up with so many holes in them that they couldn't be worn in public... :-) 

[Tammy and Violet]

Oh Lori,I loved you message .....I could relate to most of it.. It was one year to the date and my Violet became my best friend ....I love her so much ! Hugs to you and Winnie ! I am so sorry to hear about your dad...

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Thanks for the hug, and glad that your Violet is giving you so much joy!

[Libby Stinson]

Thanks Lori for sharing. I had a similar experience. My father passed away in 2009. Six months later we got our first puppy . He is a Cavachon, not a doodle. (we actually got a doodle in 2012). Previously, we had only cats, so a puppy was knew to us. He chewed everything and anything. Our losses were over $2000. Cell phones, glasses, remotes, carpet, you name it. 

After the age of about 18 months this behavior stopped, almost abruptly. 

As you mention your story, and I look back at our situation, I seem to think that our puppy was trying to distract us from our grief and letting us know that we were too distracted to worry about their needs.

And, as well as you, I know my dad would have loved our Winston.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Sorry about your father! I would have loved to have an "easy" puppy, but I have to believe that even though it was a bad time in my life, it all turned out like it was supposed to.