Our 'big boy' Chester is as cute as they come and super smart. He can also be a bit stubborn, but over all a complete joy. He rings his bell to go out to potty, at only 17 weeks can sit, stay, go down, roll over, leave it when treats are placed on his paws (very impressive for a little guy), shake a paw or high 5 and has the best and most entertaining personality. He loves people and from what little interaction he has had with other dogs, seems to love them as well. We couldn't be happier with our newest family member.
Tammy & Cliff
Lake Tahoe, NV
Addie is brilliant! Our trainer, who is quite well known here in New Hampshire, originally had reservations about us buying a bordoodle. She said that she was unfamiliar with this breed and cautioned us and even advised that we may wish to look at a "purebred" dog. Now after Addie spent several weeks with her, she literally said that Addie is by far the SMARTEST dog she has ever trained. We just wanted to share that with you.
Susan
Swanzey, New Hampshire
I thought I'd send you an email and let you know how are little Bindi is doing. She's 4 months old and 29 lbs today. She's pretty amazing. She's so smart that at 4 months old she can play dead when she is shot with a "bang", she can heal like nobody's business, and she sits like a lady waiting for us to open the door before she goes out or comes in. She also has what we call "table manners" that is, she sits in her spot and doesn't bother us when we're at the table. She gets her treats in her bowl after dinner... this is probably the thing that was the most difficult for her. she loves the water. she was continually putting her feet in her water dish and jumping up and down... so we bought her a child's wading pool. She likes to sleep on the a/c vents. All in all she's pretty terrific.
Bagley Family
Caldwell, Idaho
Quick update on Tala.
She is a super smart and sweet girl, adjusting well, though she has been a little timid (you saw that initially but then you thought her confidence had grown, and the Volhard test seemed to confirm that). Anyway, she seems to be rapidly gaining confidence and my son just adores her.
She is starting to love tug and loves to chase a stuffed rabbit Levi ties to a rope. She also loves the neighbor's dog and they get each other nice and tired. Sometimes when she naps she comes and lays right down ON our feet, though she also goes through the dog door and hangs out in the yard by herself for a while (she learned the dog door really quickly and is almost there on potty training--also working sit, down, stay and come and she knows sit and down quite well). So she is independent and affectionate at the same time.
Ineke, Brad & Levi
Boulder, Colorado
We just wanted to give you an update on Gussie and send you a couple pictures. We can't believe how much he has grow, he's already 45lbs and a big ball of curly fur! He has really fit into our family and it's so fun watching him learn our routine... he is so smart and is learning new things every day. He LOVES playing Frisbee outside and is super fast... and now that the weather is warmer he loves sitting outside on the deck watching everything go on. He's made friends with lots of the neighbourhood kids and is super friendly with everyone. I take him to puppy school once a week with our son Carter (he's 9) because Carter was having some trouble being the "pack leader" when we first got Gussie, but the puppy school has been great and Gus lights up the second Carter gets off the school bus each day. I attached a couple pictures for you to see how much he's grown!
Thanks again for such a great dog, he is definitely a special part of our family and we think he's very happy here :)
Tara & Joe
Ontario, Canada
Our Milo is now grown up! He is definitely part of our family and we love him so much. He's such a smart dog! I remember when we first got him, his color was black. You said he would likely lighten up. Here's what he looks like now.
Nara
Fremont, California
Emma's Plane Ride Home
Emma was amazing all day yesterday on our flight home. She charmed everyone. In my whole life I’ve never had a puppy who didn’t cry the first night but Emma didn’t. We arrived home at 10:30 p.m. and she was curious about everything. Finally at 12:15 am we went to bed but she was still ready to have fun. The cats liked her immediately. After I write this Emma and I are going to the barn/pasture to meet the horses & cows. She seems totally connected to us and not lonely at all and she really listens.
Here's some information that may be helpful to others:
The papoose carrier was wonderful. Emma got to look at everything in the airports and because she was in the papoose we weren’t asked to put her underneath the seat on the planes. That was a great surprise as we thought she would have to be underneath the seat at all times. Security was a breeze - I just walked through the scanner with her. No health papers were required. We had a window seat on each flight and she loved looking out the window. When she got tired we put her in the carrier underneath the seat and she was fine. On each flight everyone around us was amazed that we had a puppy because there was never a peep out of her. When we arrived in ROC I took her outside and she had to go immediately. She was very hungry and thirsty (I gave her a little bit of water on the flights but nothing to eat) but she stayed calm.
We think that flying with the puppy is a great bonding experience - she seems completely attached already to both of us. We’re really glad she had a week of your excellent training because she learned a lot. She walked quietly on the leash every time we put her on the ground and she comes when she’s called, even without treats (because we didn’t want to feed her). Anyway, we never expected her to handle such a long and difficult day so well. Today she’s full of herself and wants to explore everything.
Thank you again for letting us spend so much time at your lovely place with your wonderful dogs. We think that extra bonding time and learning your training methods made a tremendous difference yesterday. We’ll keep in touch and we’ll send pictures.