Goldendoodle Puppies

Thank you so much to the dozens of people who wanted to help Izzy!  I appreciate the outpouring of care towards this sweet girl, and I know that anyone of those potential homes would have been a happy place for her to grow and heal in.

When Izzy’s owner no longer wanted her, stating that she was belligerent and the puppy biting was not controllable, my good friend, Anette, and I both worked with the owner, helping her with tips and training information.

A week later, she contacted us again, saying, nope, no way, come get this dog.  Anette is the owner of Izzy’s father and Izzy had gone to her as pick of the litter.

And what a pick!  Lil Iz was a strong leader of the litter.  She was curious, smart, and outgoing.  Not to mention, as beautiful as she was silky soft and cuddly.

Anette jumped in her car and was on her way to central Nebraska to pick up that pup within minutes, she called me from the car for us to make a plan.  Legally, the puppy was hers to take in, I was hurting and so worried, I felt like I had to have her back in my arms.  Anette is a soft hearted breeder who understood that after raising this baby for 8 weeks, I loved it and also that if Izzy had problems, she might respond more to me.

I got busy making appointments for personal trainers and vets. The description of her behavior was troubling because I knew she had been good natured and learned commands when with me.  I though I’d have to work with her for weeks for obedience training.

 
Instead, I found a well behaved, non-nipping, sweet dog who was terrified.  She recognized me right away and came running across the yard to me.  

When I bent down to pet her, she literally screamed in fear.  It was a high, screeching yip, that did not let up.  We discovered that she was frightened of hands, doors, small enclosed areas, people, and loud noises.  But I also saw Anette’s little grandchild gently taking a stick out of Izzy’s mouth and her being happy for his attention.

While extremely skittish around my home and dogs all morning, she slowly opened up to our love.  I started calling her Izzy the Brave to give her some positive reinforcement for overcoming her issues.  She was being curious again, slowly approaching new things, looking to me to ask if it was okay, then bravely checking it out.

I knew then that what she truly needed was not just training but a lot of love.  If I were to be in charge of the process, she would bond with me, then have to go through it all again with the new family who eventually became her forever home.

I wanted to hold her close.

That was great for me, but not her.  I found a great couple who already had one of her siblings from two years ago.  They will bond with her and focus on the retraining themselves, so that she does not have to readjust to multiple families.  

While I hated having everything go so wrong for the poor girl, I was thrilled to have had her in my arms again, and to now know that she is in the arms of a family who will always treasure her.

And it meant a lot to see how many wonderful people reached out and offered to take this sad, scared baby into their own hearts.  Thank you.

 

 

Molly and Sugar were both way over due for new doos. Sugar couldn’t get a haircut for 4 months because of pregnancy and nursing. And honestly, Molly was so dang cute as a fluff ball so furry you couldn’t even tell if there was a dog in there or not, that I was enjoying her as she was.

With the heat in Kansas, it just wasn’t fair for me to leave her that way just because I thought it was adorable. 
Once she was shaved, we discovered there was barely anything under that mop!  She is a tiny thing.

Sugar looked sleek under her mountain of hair too.

Do you see the little heart/hole in the sidewalk that she found for me on our walk?

Here is a close up.  I’d never have noticed it if she hadn’t called my attention to that spot.  Thank you, Shuggie, I love you too!

Before her Sugarbabies went to their homes, they shared a heart with me too.  This is a crystal that I’ve had in the yard for years.

I had no idea that one side was heart shaped until the puppies flipped it over while playing with it.

Of course, I took that as an ‘I love you’ message from them.

I hope those little puppies know how much I loved them too. My yard seems very empty without their lively personalities.

My time with them seemed much too short.  Saying good bye was rough. 

 

By this weekend, our dog population will have dwindled down to just four,  Dorothy (who is getting tons of attention after losing her brother), Molly, Sugar, and Honey.

The pups are starting to leave for their new families.

Sugar is ready to say goodbye.  She has been sleeping on the blankets that go to their new homes, and letting me rub toys and blankies all over her to get the scent nicely saturated.  But is avoiding anyone trying to nurse.  She is over it.

The bags are packed with necessities and goodies to take along.

As hard as it is to say goodbye, I do love seeing the pups meet their new people.  They seem to know that person is theirs now.

While it is hard for me to watch them go, it might be even tougher for Molly.

She cannot stand to have them out of her sight.  I see a lot of games of fetch in my future to distract the poor girl through her sadness of losing her rollicking, lil playmates.

And who will their mommy hunt tasty tidbits for!?  She brought this critter right into the house to them.  At least the mice and birds she catches have been delivered outdoors.

I will miss their endless fascination and curiosity.  Oh and the enthusiasm!  They kept things lively around here.  I loved to show them new things to watch their excitement in exploring it.

I loved taking care of them too, the bathing, and brushing, and medicating.  I was rubbing Neosporin onto one fluffy boy’s fat tummy after another while sitting out on the patio and visiting the other day and someone asked if I actually enjoyed all of that work.

Yes, I do.  It doesn’t seem like work to tend to these babies’ needs.  And they are here for such a short time, I try to savor all the moments.

Maybe it is from raising kids, then grandfairies and looking back at how fast it all flew by.

My lessons have taught me to look for smiles and love where I can find them, and treasure each one. 

 

 

I promise, these guys really do have soft pillows!

But yesterday, they preferred rocks.
It was their first, big day out and they were so into being outdoor dogs, they embraced every aspect of it.

Including using the upside down fire pit as a den.  They also discovered it makes a good slide while playing King of the Hill.

But the day wasn’t just about playtime.  We got some work done too.  Here they are working as hard as they can to master Crate Training.

I put a kennel in their sleeping area and propped the door open for them to crawl in and out.  By the time I am ready to shut one in with the door closed, they won’t even notice.

Ta-dah!  A puppy heart!

And a puppy Oreo?

We got carried away.

Beth, Karla, and I started out with line ups, trying to pet sleepy puppies into oblivion so they could be placed in a row and not wriggle around waking each other up and messing with our design. 

First was just the girls.

Then the boys.

And then, ALL of the babies were put in a row.  That is an accomplishment.  

I was pretty pleased with the heart, too. 

Afterwards, we tucked them back into their nest and left them to snuggle up on their own.

Karla looked over and noticed they had formed a heart all by themselves!

I said that they are very smart dogs and learned tricks quickly.  Plus, they had excellent trainers.