So the story is...
Recently my sister told me she was getting an Australian Labradoodle. I was intrigued by this and did a lot of reading about this type of dog and soon became a little addicted to finding one for our family. I spent hours looking at websites and breeders and puppies. It became a little bit of an obsession. We were hesitant to make the leap since our last puppy was a bit of a failure, but we learned A LOT from our last experience- namely- getting a dog is a HUGE deal- not a decision to take lightly. Its a lot of work and a big commitment. So (cross our fingers) this time its gotta work out.
I had been emailing a breeder near Kansas City about this particular puppy named Dallas that had been available for a couple of months after all his siblings had been sold, and for whatever reason (well I think it was his coloring) he was still there- and when I went away on our cruise I was wondering if he would still be there when we got back. And he was! I liked the fact that he hadnt sold right away and was already a bit older and started on his house training. He also had a discounted price - sweet! Well anyways, the weekend after we got back, we made the 3+ hour drive just to go "see" him. I didnt want to make the decision yet - I just wanted to check this puppy out. When we got there we were just so impressed by his sweet calm and cuddly demeanor that we decided to just take him home. We had left Brayden at home because he had two basketball games and told him that we were just "looking" at a dog but would not be bringing one home. So while we were gone, Brayden decided to take it upon himself to write an essay about why we needed to get a dog. He expected us to come home with no dog and he was planning to work all his charm to persuade us. Here is the essay he wrote:
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Pretty good essay, isn't it? I mean, who wouldnt want to live longer?
Here is Makenna in the car on the way home. Dallas sat contently on her lap the whole way. He did have a little throw up incident which was either from car sickness or from being so hungry because he hadnt been fed that morning (in preparation for the long drive). Makenna handled it like a champ though and the trip home was a success.
When we got home, Brayden was indeed shocked and so so happy.
And here are the boys bonding with their new fluffy friend.
And here Dallas is lying on his new dog bed that he got from Costco. He loves it.
And heres these two buddies. The picture below was after my neighbor came and helped me trim Dallas' eyes so that he could actually see.
More Pictures...
And here is Dallas long before we got him (pic below). We skipped most of the puppy stage because he was a little over four months when we got him. We missed out on a lot of cuteness but also skipped a lot of work... so Id say it worked out alright. This was the picture they took that we first saw online and loved. He was 3 months in this picture.
So, hows it going you ask? The first week was rough because Dallas was crying and barking all night. He hated to be alone in his kennel. So after trying to tough it out, we decided just to let him sleep with Brayden (which is what we were going to do eventually anyways) and since then night time has been a non-issue. He does great sleeping in with Brayden- he doesnt wake him up- he just sleeps as long as Brayden sleeps and no accidents either- hooray!
As far as durring the day, Dallas is pretty laid back so he just lays around for the most part. He does have his over-excited moments where he can be jumpy and bit mouthy. We are working on all that and its really not that bad at all. Dallas is super patient with Emmitt who basically antagonizes him all day long. Emmitt loves Dallas so he hugs and kisses and tickles him relentlessly and like any 3 year old he can be a bit too rough at times but Dallas takes it like a champ. They are learning how to be together.
So Dallas seems to be working out pretty well. We have him enrolled in puppy class. He has learned to sit and come and "watch me." He is doing well on house training- it's a process but really he is great- hardly any accidents at all.
So just for posterity, here's some Dallas facts- we "adopted" him on January 25. He was named Dallas by his breeder because the theme that she had chosen for that litter was major US cities. (She chooses some kind of theme for every litter and picks names that go with it.) We could've changed his name but it just kinda stuck and now he knows it so its kind of too late. But we like it. He was born on September 17 which we took as a sign since that is also Makenna's birthday!
I put a couple video clips on youtube for your viewing pleasure
Enduring Emmitt http://youtu.be/uC8EK2Uidqk
Sledding http://youtu.be/Mxg-HNjNEoU
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