On May 2 we added a new member to our family: a Goldendoodle puppy we named Sadie! I had been talking about wanting a new puppy, although I was thinking of getting another Shih Tzu like Sophie. While Bryan was ok with the idea I could tell he got a LOT more excited about having another dog when we heard about Sadie. Our friends the Jordans bought a male from the same breeder here in town, so after meeting their puppy we decided to go take a look. Everyone knows if you go look at a puppy there is a 99% chance you will leave with a puppy!!
We are excited to have a goldendoodle (mix of Golden Retriever and Standard Poodle) because they are hypoallergenic/non shedding, great family dogs, and supposed to be easy to train. We expect that Sadie will be between 55-65 lbs when she is an adult. I have never had a big dog before and was not excited about cleaning up dog hair - so the fact that she is non-shedding is a huge plus.
When we went to the breeder's house she brought out all the puppies and they were all friendly to us and the kids. But after awhile the energy and interest of two of the puppies faded, all while Sadie continued to follow Caleb around non-stop. It was important to us that the new puppy love our boys. We especially want Caleb to have a strong relationship with the dog since studies have shown that dogs can be calming for kids who have some of the same challenges that Caleb deals with daily.
Since bringing Sadie home we have cleaned up our fair share of potty accidents but also had a lot of fun with her. She cried the first night home but after that sleeps in her crate at night from about 11pm-6:45 or 7am. She is playful and curious, and gets into stuff way more than I remember Sophie doing. I've caught her chewing on toys, power cords, shoes, etc. It's like having a crawling baby who puts everything in their mouth, except this baby doesn't wear a diaper.
Sophie is starting to warm up to her a little - although for the first two weeks she tried to spend most of her waking hours upstairs and began to sleep on the floor in our room - both things she had never done before. I'm pretty sure if she could roll her eyes at Sadie she would do it! Sadie wants to play and rough house with Sophie who is just straight up irritated by that idea. They have not been aggressive towards each other -- just a few snarls from Sophie toward Sadie when she is at her most rambunctious.
Sadie is a great addition to our family and we are hopeful that she will be a special part of the boy's childhood.
Checking out the drain
Snoozing on one of her first days home
Caleb and Sadie playing on her first morning with us.
These two have about the same energy level, which I am thankful for!!
She is going to outgrow Sophie's old crate soon!!
Caleb stole Sadie's new dog bed and made himself a perch on top of his bean bag chair
Our sweet Sadie girl the day we got her
I love it when dogs sit like this - she was probably trying to cool off!
Sadie's first bath. She hated it - must not have got too much of the water loving Retriever genes!
Joshua relaxing in Sadie's dog bed while playing with her
Go ahead and make yourself at home, Sadie
Sophie glaring down at Sadie (and us!) from her perch upstairs
No comments:
Post a Comment