Sonagh, our middle dog, is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever/Golden(?) mix whose temperament and size is very much that of a Chessie. She is an imposing dog with spooky gold eyes, who makes me feel safe.

Sonagh is about as un-doodley as a dog can get. She is my guard-dog girl and rarely given to snuggling or affection but has a sweetness about her that is hard to describe. She is, without a doubt, the most difficult dog I have ever trained. Yet, she has turned out to be such a good girl (even if she barks more than I care for and eats poop) and I wouldn’t trade her for the world! I adopted Sonagh shortly after my beloved Kayleigh died and right before I developed a serious, long term illness. She is very much my dog and has seen me through many dark days when I was very ill and questioned the wisdom of bringing her (or any puppy for that matter) into our home, as I didn’t have the energy to give her. In retrospect, it was the smartest thing I could have done as I am a better person because of her.

So, here are some photos of my beautiful baby girl!

Six weeks at Dena’s house.

At home with her new sister Sadie.

Doodle posing with her momma, Coco.

Helping Daddy with his sit-ups.

Hanging on the deck.

Graduating from puppy training class.

Sharing the easy chair.

The queen.

Loving my new little brother Wally.

Happy life!

Thanks for looking!

Discovering Labradoodles

Well, Sunday morning at about 4:00 AM I was reminded of the importance of keeping a puppy on a schedule. Wally’s Saturday schedule was way off due to his morning training class and our evening activities. Apparently he did not get out at the times he needed and, for the very first time, had an accident in his kennel. Needless to say, cleaning a poop filled kennel at four in the morning has made me much more diligent about his schedule!

Discovering Labradoodles

You know how they say things come to you when you need them? Well, I have had Dr. Patricia McConnell’s book ‘The Other End of the Leash’ in my stack of books for…well, an embarrassingly long period of time. Once I picked it up though, I have been fascinated! And I had an ‘Ah-ha!/D’oh!’ moment as I read Chapter Two. I have had dogs for decades now and have trained several dogs over the years. Sonagh, my six year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix, has, without a doubt, been the most difficult dog I have ever attempted to train. However, six years into the mission, we are doing fine…with one exception. She still doesn’t come when she is called, which means that I haven’t figured out how to communicate this to her. Until I read Chapter Two! Now, Sonagh is coming every time; I have not had to stand at the door and yell at her repeatedly to ‘Come!’. (Sound familiar?)

So, what is this piece of magic? Well, you are probably going to have the same ‘Ah-ha!/D’oh!’ reaction I did when you hear how simple this is. The crux of what Dr. McConnell says is this: canines are visual creatures. If you are standing facing them while you are calling them, you are actually sending a mixed message. Your verbal command is telling them to ‘Come’ but your physicality, the direction of your paws and face, is telling them that you are going the to be moving forward…so why then, if you look like you are going to be moving toward them, would they then come to you? For all the world, it looks like you are going to come out into the yard and join the rabbit hunt!

So what magnificent pearl of wisdom did Dr. McConnell impart that has had such an amazing impact on the quality of my relationship with my sweet Sonagh? Point your face and your paws in the direction you want the dog to be going! I told you it was simple! So now when I want Sonagh to come in, I go to the door, call her name to get her attention, tell her to ‘Come!’ and turn around to face the family room! Sometimes I will add a few slaps on my thigh to encourage her to speed up, but she is moving…every time!!! This is amazing to me, as I have struggled for years to get Sonagh to ‘Come’ on command. Sigh! Who knew it was a simple as turning around?

I hope this helps you and your dog!

Cheers!

Edie

Discovering Labradoodles

For The Love of Dogs

Hello and welcome to my blog! I hope this blog will provide relevant information that will help you enjoy your life with your dog. I also hope to bring a little light heartedness to it by sharing entertaining anecdotes about life with dogs. As anyone who has had a dog for longer than a day knows, they are a continuous source of entertainment!

I have owned dogs for decades and it is my love for them that spurred my writing career. I am the author of six books and numerous articles on the subject of dogs and dog health.

My own pack consists of three dogs, Sadie (10 ½), Sonagh (6) and Wally (10 months), each wonderful in their own unique way. I will give a profile of each of them in future postings. The dogs and I share our home with my wonderful, patient husband and his nine tortoises.

As I write this first blog post, it is sub-zero here in Minnesota with a dangerous wind chill. What that means for our life with dogs is that they cannot be outside much longer than it takes to do their business and have a tour of the ‘perimeter’ a.k.a. the fence line. This makes for an interesting day of trying to keep them entertained and keeping the puppy from creating too much mayhem because he is bored out of his fur. The girls are old hands at just hanging out, but the puppy is…well, a puppy!

So far, so good. He has had some downtime in his kennel, a vigorous game of chase with Sonagh around the family room, a training session with the girls, stolen a sock and a pair of underwear out of the laundry basket and had a bit of a spat with Queen Sadie. He is currently napping between the big dogs, dreaming of new chaos to be created.

Thanks for reading! I look forward to your comments and will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Cheers!

Edie