Our New Baby Dougie | 14 Weeks Old

(Picture of Dougie at 12 weeks old when we adopted him)

We welcomed a new baby to the family :)

Our summer ended in a whirl that lead right into the 2012-2013 school year. We had so much going on towards the end of the summer that it is no wonder that it felt like that. The most exciting change is that we now have 2 babies in the house (yes, I did say two babies). We are all very excited about this :) In addition to the two babies stirring things up, my middle son has also started a new homeschool season and I am still working from home. With all of this going on, it just did not feel like summer ended at all. On the other hand, I have started to feel like I am getting too old for all of activity ... C'est la via!

Dougie when he was a baby pup. 

Dougie is our 14 week old Goldendoodle puppy. 

Anyways, back to the topic at hand ... Baby #2. We adopted the sweetest goldendoodle puppy a few weeks ago. He was just turning 12 weeks when we got him. We named the puppy Dougie and the boys gave him their love right from the start. My husband and I are are becoming rather attached to Dougie, too. Although it is a challenge to have a puppy instead of an older dog (he is our first pup), he really settling in well and is such a good puppy. Dougie  rarely has accidents in the house (almost 100% potty trained). He  has a very sweet temperment which makes him the perfect dog for both the boys. Dougie plays more actively with my teen and plays lightly with the baby. In fact, this puppy lets our toddler do whatever he wants to do to him and rarely challenges who is the pack leader between the two of them. We are very grateful that it is this way and pray that it remains this way. On the other hand, it has been quite an adjustment for us because we are the ones that are training and taking care of the dog right now.

What's It Like To Have A Puppy & Toddler Together? 

Our toddler is more of a handful than our puppy. This really surprises us! Our toddler tries to eat the dog food and throws toys in the puppy's water. He is the one that plays roughly, so we have been trying to teach our toddler to pet nicely and not provoke rough play. On the other hand, our puppy tries to steal the baby's toys and chew on them. He is starting to get stubborn outside; he gets these little bursts of energy and them will not "come" as he should. He is really good about not going to the bathroom in the house, but there were a few occassions where he did not bark or go to the door. He just stood up, looked at us and took a pee on the floor. I am very happy that we have tile flours :) It is literally 2 babies for us right now. We did not think of that. Our mind was set on giving my teen a dog to love and finish growing up with because we had to get rid of our other dog a little after having the baby. He has been asking us to get a new one for quite a while. We also wanted our toddler to enjoy the dog experience. He hugs this dog all day. It warms our hearts.

What is a Goldendoodle?

Goldendoodle dogs are a mix between a poodle and a labrador retriever. They come in different sizes and colors depending on whether one of the parents are a minature or tall poodle, as well as what color the poodle. This also affects what type of hair the goldendoodle has: shabby, curly, course or soft. They are typically hypoallergenic dogs In our case, Dougie's parents are both AKC/CKC show dogs. Most people choose the same because they raise their goldendoodles to become show dogs. Our goldendoodle is hypoallergenic (no or little shed) which is amazing for the amount of hair they have on their bodies. We wondered if our goldendoodle would be more verbal like a poodle (they bark a lot), but we actually wish the Dougie would bark more. We want him to bark to let us know that he has to use the bathroom, but he really does bark. Goldendoodles are sweet and beautiful dogs! They also come as labradoodles which are a mixure of black labrador and poodles. The labradoodles are characteristically black haired dogs. Goldendoodles come as golden haired and black haired. Both have the same type of hair texture variations and sweet personalities. One last thing, goldendoodles are awesome with children; especially toddlers and are attentive to all members of the family opposed to just following behind one.

The funny thing is that our veterinarian teased us for wanting and owning a designer show mutt :) Meanwhile, we DID NOT even know they were until we saw a classified listing. We just wanted a dog that was great with toddlers. Dougie is that for sure.


In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child