Do you do things differently with this Puppy you didn't do in your younger years?

[Adrianne Matzkin]

[Carol and Banjo]

Susan I can relate to that so well. Years ago we had a beautiful German Shepherd with serious dominance issues. I was too busy raising a family to properly train her. If I'd only known then what I know now I'm sure things would have been different. Choosing a Goldendoodle was very deliberate. We wanted an all round happy, friendly dog. And, tho he's not even been here 24 hours yet it's clear things will be very different! Number one....I can hardly take my eyes off him!!!! He's positively adorable!! We have lots of time for this little one and have already decided we don't want to do anything unless he can do it with us. Sadly our GS was such a constant challenge we never really enjoyed him. This time around things will be very different!

[Debbie and Thomas]

We raised two athletic boys who were into hockey in the winter and lacrosse in the summer. Our dog Buddy was the greatest and did not mind being alone. he was given a lot of attention when we were home ( I work from home)and when we left every evening for practice or games-he waited patiently. Now these boys have both graduated from university and moved on to their careers and bachelor pads. Well unfortunately, Buddy passed away 1 week after our oldest son moved into his downtown loft. It was very sudden and we were devastated. We went thu the motions of life for six weeks, but were discussing our options. At first, no way was there another dog in our future, we loved him so much, we thought it would be disrespectful to replace him. Then after a month of misery, I knew we had to get another dog. Not the same breed though, I wanted something totally different. We brought Thomas, our Golden doodle home Nov. 25/08 and he has filled this house with doggy love again. The boys come over all the time just to see him, NOT US, LOL. We have the time to take him to dog parks, dog training classes (now at intermediate level) and all kinds of things we never had time for before. He is a lucky dog and spoiled rotten. It was the best decsion we ever made.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Our oldest doesn't miss us since we have been on our working vacation. All I hear is 'when is Samantha coming home?". I understand just how she feels.

[Kathy Janes]

You sound like us! We swore we wouldn't get another dog when we lost our yellow lab, Meg. It was so painful, we didn't think we could bear to ever face that again. We lasted almost exactly a month, with the house seeming to echo with dog-emptiness. It was awful. But it had to be something that didn't shed like the lab. Then we discovered goldendoodles and brought Mater home from the breeder within two weeks of that! We were lucky to find a pup available, but I think destiny brought us together. He and Tom picked each other out and immediately became constant companions!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

We have had dogs all of our married life. Our doodles get many many more walks than our children years dogs. They also sleep on the bed (the doods). My childhood dogs always slept on my bed, I guess it took forty years to wear DH down LOL. They have lots and lots of toys -no clothes though. I think my other dogs made do with nylabones, old plush toys and old tennis balls. The doods are also terrible (or incredibly good) counter surfers, something I never ever tolerated from my other dogs. Of course, maybe I just don't remember. They take showers with me as their baths and roll on the bespread to dry. Boy have I lost it or what? Life would not be the same without Roo and Tigger

[Linda and Murphy]

We lost Gumbo, our 15 yr old Brittany, right before Katrina (a blessing in retrospect). The next spring my youngest son started in on me about a puppy. I had gotten used to not having all the hair in the house.
I suggested a poodle. He countered with Rhodesian Rigdeback.
I spent a weekend online ( not nearly enough time), found doodles, and the rest is history.
Murphy has more toys than my kids right now. Saints jersies, LSU jersey, collars, bandanas.
And, of course, he sleeps on my bed.
I kinda went from soccer mom to agility mom, I think.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I HATED taking my babies out for walks in their strollers. We live in 'Short Hills' and the name fits my area to a tee. I found routes to take with Samantha that were level but boring so that didn't last long for me. I am basically a lazy person, I don't mind driving an hour to a dog park but hate waking anywhere.
Since we have been in Florida, we walk everyday - to the dog park, Baskin Robbins, lunch - all within a mile of our apartment. I have been trying to think of places we can walk when we get back. I will have to drive a short ways but at least it will be flat walking - my old knees will be much happier.
I am trrying to find an inexpensive hotel at the Jersey shore to go on long weekends. I just love the 'beach atmosphere' where everything is in walking distance. My human kids would be shocked to hear me say that - my mother walk!?!?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

"If they asked me, I could write a book..." LOL!
Everything is different with Jackdoodle than with my prior dogs. His food is much better, of course...I keep getting more educated, and the food companies keep getting less trustworthy, and there are so many new, high-quality products that were unheard of when I got my last dog in 1990. He is also the first dog I ever cooked for, except when the others were sick, of course.
I always gave my dogs the run of the house, and always allowed them in my bed & on the furniture, but they were small non-shedders...I did try to keep Jack off the living room furniture, but that didn't last. Jack is the first dog I've had who doesn't wear a training collar (otherwise known as a choke chain), and the first I've trained using the newer, positive training methods. But he was 14 months old when I got him, and pretty well trained to begin with. He is the first dog I have walked daily (again, partly due to size), and the first I have taken out to dog parks.
One of the blessings of having an empty-nest dog is that you can usually afford to spoil them more...I never thought I would be spending this kind of money on dog treats & toys! Or vet bills, for that matter! Knowing what I do now, I have JD titered instead of getting vaccinated every year. It is a lot more expensive, and I don't know that I would have been able to afford this when I had dependent kids to support. He probably wouldn't be getting his expensive treatments at the specialist, either. But I'm so glad I'm able to do it for him...he really deserves the best.
Now that I'm thinking about it, our dogs are pretty lucky to have "older" parents. I have always called Jackdoodle my "change-of-life baby"...it occurs to me that's not a bad thing to be!

[Adrianne Matzkin]

A word of caution - all those wonderful 'treats' Samantha was allowed to do in MB have come back to haunt me. It seems that since we have gotten home she has fortten all those months in obience classes. I tell someone we meet on the street that she is so well behaved and I go home and bite my tongue. She goes to play with a stick, I tell her to drop it and she takes off like a bat of hell and totally ignores me! I just trun and go back into the house and close the door (glass, slidding door) and walk away. She sees I am no longer out back with her and she runs to the 2 doors that lead back into the house. I wait a minute and then let her in. She is contrite but she will do it again the next time we go out into the backyard. I find myself getting annoyed with her (but mostly myself) she knows she is wrong, she knows the commands but is totally ignoring me! I am hoping it just the pre-teen year rebellion!!
Thanks for letting me vent
Adrianne

[GBK]

They are better trained, and they go everywhere with us that they are allowed :) We spend more time at the dog park with these two than we ever spent at the park with our child!

[Adrianne Matzkin]

YOu know we DROVE to FLorida instead of flying so we could Samantha with us. I would NEVER have driven with the girls - even now that they are 25 and 27! The bickering..... Samantha occasionally yawned as she rolled over! DH did have to 'fight' with her to move over so they could both lay down comfortably

[Debra Ference-Luongo]

We have a puppy nanny! I couldn't have imagined hiring someone to come into my home to watch my puppy the last time I had one. And soon, after Edgar becomes just a wee bit older, he's going to go to doggie daycare. I don't think such places even existed last time I had a dog - 15 years ago.