Well, January 2023 was an interesting month in the Pake household to say the least, bringing another puppy home with less than 48 hours notice on January 4th. In case you missed it, we had just decided to get another puppy on January 2nd after getting back from our winter vacation. We had been thinking a late-Spring puppy and had previously checked in with our breeder, only to find out they had a completely adorable and absolutely perfect 10-week old female puppy available that was going to be part of their breeding program, that urgently needed to be re-homed for some reason. We picked her up that Wednesday, and the rest is history.
INTRODUCING RAYA THE MINI GOLDENDOODLE (BOODLES/JAX 10/22/22)
So here’s all of the craziness from the month, starting with the bad.
Here’s What I’m NOT Going To Remember About Bringing Home Another Puppy
First things first, talking to your breeder late on a Monday about an available puppy, and agreeing to pick her up less than 48 hours later was absolutely nuts. I mean, if you have a deposit down or you’re expecting a human child, you have some time to plan measured in months. This was hardly even days but rather hours. Let’s just say that Tuesday was absolutely frantic, tearing through the house looking for all sorts of puppy related things, and then making a bee-line to the local pet store which was cleaned out from the holidays for the rest. Fortunately, I was able to find everything that I absolutely needed prior to pickup between our basement and the local pet store, and the couple of things that could wait arrived a few days later in the mail! If there’s anything that was crazy about all of this, that was it. Not sure I want to do that again, but Raya has been worth it! :)
I’m already forgetting about a month of sleep deprivation. Even though my son was mostly responsible for getting her out in the wee hours of the morning if she needed to go, my “dad hearing” still kicked in listening for my kids to be listening for the dog. I never slept past 4am for most of the month, and turned into a sleep deprived zombie. She typically needed to wake up and get out for a bathroom break just before 6am, and only a few times before that in the 2am timeframe. This is actually really good for a puppy, but I don’t remember much of the rest of January due to the sleep deprivation and overall really light sleeping with the “dad hearing” thing.
I’m also already forgetting Raya’s excessively bad nipping habit when we got her. All puppies nip, but it was really bad and might have been handled in a way by her previous family that made things worse. She was probably just too excited to finally be in a forever home, but we had to give her the tough love treatment of depriving her of attention whenever she nipped, which was a lot. I think it was more painful for us than for her because she’s just so cute, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do and it was 80% better in about a week, and after a full month with us her bite inhibition is now excellent.
I’m also already forgetting about her pea-sized bladder and needing to go out every 30 minutes to an hour in the middle of winter. This is why you might want to think twice about a “Christmas puppy,” but these fully professionally bred GANA blue ribbon Goldendoodles are wicked smart, and we think she might have been playing us for treats when she realized she could get a snack every time she had to go even the slightest bit! Crate training is teaching her to hold it, and as of this writing she can finally go down for bed at 9pm and make it past 7am until she needs to go! Woohoo!!!
Another quickly forgotten issue were her doggy diva meltdowns about being fenced off and always trying to bust down our pet fencing no matter how well reinforced, a few times successfully. The cutest thing she did after we put some fencing up just trying to keep her out of the kitchen, was this very aghast princessy look of horror at once again being fenced and not willing to stand for it, backing up a bit while closing her little eyes and mouth as tightly as she could, and then trying to ram through the fence again! It was so cute I couldn’t help but laugh, and then just picked her up and held her as we put the fence away.
So pet fencing doesn’t work for her. Puffes was okay with it when he was a puppy, but all dogs are different! We figured out she’s much happier and far more calm just being crated temporarily if she needs to be, or if someone can run interference and have her practice her recall and lie down commands for treats, so that she’s not hovering right next to our feet in the kitchen and in danger of getting stepped on. Fair enough!
Accidents in the house? Very few. Discounting the first few times she peed in the house, always on the mat next to the door to our garage because we suspect her previous keepers might have been training her to go on a pee mat, I can definitely count her accidents on two hands with fingers to spare.
One of the last accidents she had, my wife was “watching” her and jokingly called her ugly. Less than a minute later, princess Raya pooped on her exercise mat in protest, and that I will remember! Dog’s don’t necessarily know words, but they know tone of voice and expression, and I have no doubt this was a protest pooping right on my wife’s mat. The funny thing was my wife was on her exercise bike and clipped in, so she couldn’t just jump off in an instant to stop her! I wasn’t there, but it was hilarious!
What I AM Going To Remember About Bringing Home Another Puppy
She’s just so cute and so precious! I mean, who doesn’t love a puppy?
Everybody loves a puppy! Who doesn’t want to hold one? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a puppy that wasn’t cute, but Raya has a cuteness factor of 11 with her adorable little girly face, little mitten paws, white haired nose and chest, and white tail tip. You can’t hold her or even look at her and not feel incredibly uplifted and overwhelmed with love. I think puppies, and dogs in general, are God’s gift to humans to help show us what true unconditional love and dedication looks like. Imagine a world where everybody treats you with the same love, affection, and dedication that your dog does. I think we all need more of that! Stressed about the sorry state of the world that we live in? Feeling down, demoralized, or depressed? Get a puppy! (Pro tip: You also won’t have time to be depressed about anything while you’re busy caring for one!)
We had to give Raya a bath because she had gotten stinky from rolling around in the yard. It was a bit cool in the house and I noticed she was shivering, and the poor baby was seemingly panicked and didn’t know what to do with herself, or to go curl up in her doggy bed or blanket to warm up. Aww, poor baby! I was more than happy to grab her blanket for her and wrap her up in it, and then hold her tightly for 15 minutes until she warmed up. Best feeling ever.
Seeing my kids bond with another puppy has been heartwarming also. When we got Puffles, my daughter had been begging us for a dog for two years, but quickly realized she was in over her head. And then my son never really wanted a dog at the time because he was afraid of them, so Puffles became “our dog”. Does that at all sound familiar with kids and dogs?
Anyhow, they’re older now and know full well what’s involved, and giving them another chance to bond with a puppy that loves and adores them has been great. I think both of my children will have pets of their own as adults. They know now that they’re a lot of work, but also a source of endless love and affection. Our kids are getting old enough now to know that a lot of humans are just plain crazy. No human can love you like a dog will, and it’s such a special feeling to have such an affectionate breed of dog that bonds so closely with their humans. You’ll never be alone or lacking for love with a dog!
From Only Doggy Child To Big Brother
What’s happened with Puffles has been the most amazing thing of all. The first few days were definitely awkward. There were more than a few angry barks, chasing her into corners and a bit of rough-housing, but he never hurt her and we stayed out of it as suggested! Most if not all of the initial hostility was done after the second full day, and he and Raya started bonding thereafter. Puffles quickly turned into a great big brother and started doing half of our work for us. He’s been great at disciplining Raya and showing her the ropes, scolding her and keeping her out of things she shouldn’t be into, and burning off tons of her energy for us after they started playing together in our yard on the third day we had her.
Letting them meet for the first time in the neutral territory of our yard definitely helped. Walking them together, treating them together while they sat or lied down also helped. Play time in the yard also really helped. I think Puffles was taking out some aggression in the yard at first, but quickly realized how much fun he was having with his new companion, and now they love to run and play in the yard together after getting back from every walk. A few puppy ice cream socials definitely helped also, but most of all just time! I’ve never heard of two goldendoodles co-habiting and not getting along. Puffles still likes his space and some alone time, but they’re getting along just fine in our home now, and have the best times together in our yard and now on road-trips.
Are They Fighting or Playing?
I’ve never seen Puffles having more fun than he has with now with his new baby sister. They love chasing and wrestling each other in the yard for an hour or more per day 10-15 minutes at a time. Puffles didn’t even really know how to play with dogs before and never had much interest in other dogs, but he loves playing with Raya and has a blast.
I grew up with a dog, but not two dogs, so this has all been new for me too. It’s tough to tell if dogs are fighting or playing if you’re not familiar, but managed to find this really helpful blog and chart below. There was really only one or two mildly hostile moments by Puffles the first time or two they played which I had to step in to referee, but after that it’s all been good natured fun and exercise for both of them!
From Puffles to “Buffles”
Puffles has gotten so BUFF from all of the exercise and play time that he wasn’t getting before, that we’re calling him “BUFFLES” now. He’s seriously transformed into one big hunk of muscle, and has probably gained a few pounds in muscle mass and a fair amount of girth too. We’re not kidding about this at all. We’ve all noticed the difference when we have to pick him up and carry him somewhere! He’s like one of those gym bros that has to walk with a wider stance or with their arms sticking out a bit, because their muscles are so big!
Raya was so energetic when we brought her home and when they first started playing, that she seemed to be getting the better of Puffles, and was able to out-play and out-maneuver him, and was shockingly quick. She caught him off-guard, but he quickly developed and doesn’t get taken advantage of nearly as much. It’s been hilarious seeing her “buzz his tower” and pulling moves straight out of Top Gun when she “hits the brakes and he flies right by”. LOL
It’s been a shocking physical transformation for Puffles, and underneath all of that fluff, Raya is a solid bit of muscle too! All of the physical activity and play is so great for both of them.
Verdict?
We’re all exhausted, but totally in love with our new addition to the family. Two dogs are great and just a natural thing, especially two of the same breed that will be similar in size to each other. Absolutely no regrets here. Crazy? Not at all. Just seeing how much fun Puffles is having that he never would have been having without Raya is reason enough for me. He deserves a furry companion to go through life with, and now he has one.
There’s also something really special about caring for a breeder’s litter pick as a Guardian family. In case you missed this little tidbit also, Raya isn’t actually our dog, she’s our breeder’s dog that we’re caring for (although she’ll eventually be ours fully). So Raya isn’t just cream of the crop, but cream of the cream, and hopefully the future mommy of a dozen or more other adorable little puppies that will bring so much joy and happiness to so many other families. It’s not about not having to shell out $4000 for one of these fully professionally bred and genetically tested out the wazoo dogs, although that’s nice too. It’s about being a part of the journey as “Raya’s family,” seeing her become a mommy, and hopefully bringing so much more joy into the world.
And the only thing better than one super loving dog excited to come greet you when you come home with their tail wagging furiously, are TWO dogs greeting you and two sets of wagging tails. Best feeling ever! :)
Puffles and Raya are a great pair, and we all couldn’t be happier.
Keep up with the latest on Puffles and Raya at their dedicated Doggos page below.
