Instant Learner

Within the first week of our dog-master relationship, Beau nailed sit and shake. At that point, a piece of his dog food was incentive enough to drop his tush on command. Literally, he was sitting on command within about 4 minutes. That is all it took. I thought, "Wow, this is great. He wants to please. He's going to be such a sweet boy." And at 12 pounds he was.

He learned High Five quickly. And when I said, "Down," he literally threw himself on the floor. At his second vet visit, he impressed everyone with his repertoire of "tricks." I glowed as a proud pet parent. Everyone there, from the vet to the technicians and office staff, smiled and cooed at Beau. He was little and so cute. He was irresistible. Again, at 15 pounds, he was.

That was early April. By the time he was in for his last shots the first week of June, one of the staff said, "He is going to need high value treats, like hot dogs." She played with him for a few minutes, putting him through his paces. It was all I could do to keep from saying, "Would you like to come home with us?" She possessed the skills I needed: speed and coordination.

By the middle of June, I dubbed Beau "The Streak." Fast cannot begin to describe his movement. He could in one swoop take anything out of my hand, grab glasses off my face and beat me into a room that should have been closed off. Like all puppies and babies, Beau learned by putting things in his mouth. He learned that if he tugged hard enough on my clothes, they ripped. If he got his nose into my pocket, he could grab it and tear it out of my pants. From there he moved to grabbing my shorts and pulling them down. If he grabbed my underwear with my pants, he could depants me -- which he frequently liked to do in the backyard. I knew what to do to respond to these unwanted behaviors. I just was not fast enough to do it. I was too busy pulling up my pants.

The one thing that all the dog training books, puppy class trainers and labradoodle information web sites don't say is that to train a labradoodle, you gotta be coordinated, fast and eventually pretty strong, at least during their formative months.

In hind sight, I should have picked up on the seemingly benign statements from conversations with people who know labradoodles:

• Labradoodle breeder: "I had only one puppy returned, by a lady about your age."
• Experienced owner:  "Good luck, good, good luck."
• Vet: "Beau is just a joyfully spirited pup."

Please know, I do love my Beau. I just need to get Superman or Supergirl's contact info.

Don't Be Fooled

At six weeks old, he received a name. Beau. At 10 weeks Beau had a name and a forever home. Lucky pup. At three months, he learned sit and shake. At six months, he went to puppy school and at seven months, he learned "Show me your belly." At 15 months, he has learned a lot. But he has not learned to keep his teeth to himself.

After losing my Wheaten Terrier who was nearly 14-years-old, I found myself lonesome and without an exercise partner. Once I was no longer taking my Wheatie Teddy on daily walks, I realized just how much exercise I was missing. It was either join a gym or get another dog. No contest. A health club is just that, but a dog provides exercise and so much more. So, I looked for my new house-mate.

I needed a dog that would be compatible with an allergy sufferer. Wheaties were great for that, but I didn't want a Teddy-look-alike. So I investigated other breeds and landed on Labradoodles. I believed the description about how these dogs are great companion dogs, smart and loving of their owners. These words describe Beau. He is all of those things, especially in the intelligence department. 

Curious is another description. He wants to know what is in a pocket, what is under a shirt, what is on the face. I didn't know just how challenging that curious quality would become. My first clue should have been when we were checking out a local dog park and I ran into another Doodle owner. She smiled when I said Beau was an eight-month Doodle. And then she said, I think compassionately, but with a bit of a chuckle, "Well, good luck, good, good luck."