Month: September 2018

Auntie Bear and Uncle Bear are welcomed by Koda and Summer

On By Carolyn FreudenthalIn Deep Thoughts, Puppy TalesLeave a comment

The puppies met more family today. Uncle Bear and Auntie Bear came to visit. From the moment the puppies smelled them their tales wagged and tongues licked. For not ever having met them they immediately recognized the closeness between all of us. Just as my kids can sense when old friends mean something special to us, and shed all shyness, the puppies relaxed immediately.

Their keen awareness of our inner feelings affects their behavior. If they sense fear in me, they take a protective stance, barking and standing tall. But if they sense my excitement and warmth for the visitor then the puppies are eager to love on them as well.

Good thing our relatives are dog people too! Sitting on the sofa was an open invitation to the lap snuggling and wet whisker kisses. Auntie Bear was thrilled to finally meet them in person, as she follows my blog.

Her comment cracked me up. The pictures on my blog did not show how big they have grown. She is right! That’s what I am saying! These Ausssiedoodle puppies are huge! The term “puppies” conjures up the image of tiny twelve pound pups not these 35 pound gangly tall furry dogs.

Yes, they are cute, but puppies they are not. I will try to start referring to them as dogs from now on. It’s still an endearing term I may use in calling them to me. It is like when I speak softly and gently to one of my children. “Sweet lamb,” I say in a comforting voice (just like my mother does).

Dogs are very perceptive. They recognize tone of voice, affectionate words, and relationships of the humans in the house. Koda and Summer can tell how much we love having Auntie Bear, Uncle Bear and Gramma Bear here in our home. Even with all the commotion of people in the kitchen and louder voices, the dogs settled down peacefully on the sofa. I feel the same contentment. It’s great to have family here.

Aussiedoodles with a little “Piss and Vinegar”

On By Carolyn FreudenthalIn Children, Comic Relief, Puppy TalesLeave a comment

Koda and Summer barked and danced inside their crates as I walked my mother-in-law into our house. I warned her to hold onto the counter to steady herself in case the dogs jumped up on her. “Ready?” I asked as I unlatched the doors and both pups bounded across the kitchen to meet her. Summer wiggled and go so excited she peed on the wood floor. Koda jumped up but did not bark like he usually does with strangers. I whisked them outside to potty. They were thrilled to have a visitor, especially one that was family from far away.

Earlier in the day I had cleaned the house as much as possible with two wet-chinned dirty-pawed puppies. A vase with fresh flowers sat in the center of the round table. The refrigerator was stocked with vegetables, dip, a cheese tray and a variety of meats. I was all set for the visit from my mother in law, Gramma Bear. She has not been out here in a long time, and has never met the puppies. She’s seen the pictures and read about them on my blog. On the way home from the airport I warned her that they were no longer small puppies, that they were not even small dogs, they were in fact, large long legged dogs (yet both had the maturity of five month old puppies).

I really wanted to her to see them as well trained. Just like when I took my children to visit their grandparents, it was important to me that they be on their best behavior. I would turn around in the front seat of our suburban and look right in their little pairs of eyes and say, “Ok, everyone remember your manners, please and thank you. Behave when you are in Gramma’s house. No running. No hands on her fragile things.” I had a similar talk with the puppies before leaving for the airport to get Gramma. “Koda, Summer, I want you to behave. No jumping on Gramma Bear when she comes into the house. You are both going to listen to me and obey my commands. Just like at puppy school.”

After the initial excitement of greeting our special visitor wore off, the puppies settled down and laid on the floor. We talked in the kitchen and then went to sit on the sofa. That’s then the puppies forgot all about our talk. They hopped up high on the sofa pillows as usual, and were face to face with Gramma, their wet whiskers brushing up to her cheeks. I jumped over trying to get them back down, but it was a futile effort. My leniency in discipling the puppies was exposed. I had a flashback to the times this same scenario played out when my children were young. “Are you allowed to be doing that?” Gramma would ask my son as he jumped on the ottoman like a trampoline. Or “Aren’t you going to make her finish everything on her plate?” I may have been a little sensitive about my mothering so comments like those were hard to hear. In front of grandparents especially, I wanted to show my kids on their best behavior.

What I learned over time is that if you stick around long enough, reality sets in. Kids and puppies push the boundaries, forget their manners, and jump on sofas or throw food off of their high chairs. It happens in my house and probably happened decades ago in these grandparents’ houses. Even so, I just wanted Koda and Summer to show how smart and sweet they are. They did. Gramma Bear showered them with praise about how adorable they are. Then she added that they are both full of a little “piss and vinegar” (which means “boistrous, youthful energy” in Gramma-speak).

Welcome Home Papa Bear!

On By Carolyn FreudenthalIn Puppy TalesLeave a comment

Papa Bear has been gone for the last seven days. He traveled far away across the Atlantic Ocean all the way to Germany. The second he walked into the house in his wool Bavarian Alpine hat they ran to greet him.  Welcome home Papa Bear! We all missed you!

He looked down at the dogs and said that in one week their legs had grown longer and their heads larger. For me, being around them all day every day, it is hard to see the changes. When I look back at pictures from their early puppy days they look so small. That stage did not last very long. I keep thinking that if these dogs are this big at 5 months old, how big are they going to get? They are already huge! If Summer wanted it to (though she is not allowed) she could put both front paws on the kitchen counter and look like she is standing there doing the dishes. When Koda sits up on the sofa and my daughter walks into the room, he turns his head in her direction. She says he looks like a person watching tv. These dogs are like two extra people living in our house. What happened to our little puppies? I must have stared too often at the pictures from the breeder of them as tiny puppies. These long legged tall fluffy dogs with the dripping beards are different that the teeny weenie babies in the pictures. Of course I knew they would grow, but this fast and this tall? It makes me laugh thinking how bad I am at estimating sizes, like the chandelier I ordered but had to send back because of how giant it was. Far too large for the area above my bathtub. Size on the computer screen can be decieving. It was hard to tell from the picture on the screen, but I am starting to think Summer and Koda’s birth father was a very tall standard poodle. These Aussiedoodles are big dogs!

Their soft furry coats and playful antics remind me that, yes, they are still puppies. Puppies in dog bodies. I am glad Papa Bear was not gone any longer than a week or he would not have recognized them.  Welcome home!

Look Who is at the Door!

On By Carolyn FreudenthalIn Comic Relief, Puppy Tales1 Comment

The knock on the door roused Summer and Koda from their sleepy spot on the hearth. They bolted over to the baby-gate and jumped up on hind legs with front paws resting on top. Imagine their surprise when I opened the front door and in walked their teacher from puppy school. A mixture of confusion and excitement crossed their fluffy faces. They love going to her at the training facility, always eager to hop out of the car and trot into the building with tails wagging. They are probably thinking, “We are in our house where rules and boundaries are much looser, so what is SHE doing here?”

I invited her, that’s why. We planned this in-home lesson to practice the things they have been learning in school. Our home environment is different than the dog training and boarding facility. There is no comfy large sectional sofa at the school, or houses next door with workers and people getting their mail. Sure there are plenty of other dogs at the school, and employees in blue shirts, but it is different and the puppies know it. So a visit from their teacher is just what we needed.

Koda and Summer were suddenly on their best behavior. They sat calmly watching her walk into the room. Koda had started to bark when she first entered the foyer, but as soon as she removed her sun glasses and he recognized her he stopped barking. They wagged their tails and wiggled around her feet in the kitchen when she came in. One puppy even piddled on the floor in excitement. As we talked the puppies watched us and were probably still trying to make sense of their teacher standing in their house. It reminds me of bumping into one of the kids’ teachers in the grocery store, they would get really quiet and puzzled about how she was outside of her classroom and had a basket full of cereal, eggs, paper towels and hot dogs. She must eat and clean her counters, just like us. Mind-blowing for the kids to consider their teachers even outside of the school.

We took the puppies into the backyard and worked on recall. Here is where I will admit something I have not yet shared on my blog. We use e-collars in the training. The collars are remotely controlled from a small device I hold in my hand, one button for Summer and one for Koda. It is a very low frequency, just enough to send a little message of correction when a command is not followed. I was reluctant about the e-collar method initially, but as the puppies grew large fast and became very rambunctious I worried about being able to maintain any order. For the past month, I have seen a big transformation. They sit, they wait for the word “free” to release, they walk right at my side, and stop when I stop. We are still working on things like not jumping up on people and the barking. I don’t mind Koda alerting us with his barking, I just want to be able to say “quiet” and have him settle down.

The other impressive “trick” is how they go onto this raised cot-like bed when they hear the word “climb.” I first witnessed them do this at the school and it sent me into giggles. I could hardly believe my eyes. Upon hearing the word “climb” both dogs went right over to the “climb” (the name for the cot-like rectangle) and immediately sat and turned to watch the room. What made me laugh most was that they sat there content, just watching and waiting until the release word “free” was used. The teacher even asked me to clap my hands excitedly. They looked from me to the teacher then back at me, but never got off of the climb. I could hardly believe it.

I bought one of those cot-like “climbs”. The teacher brought it today and we practiced it. Koda and Summer did well. Again they were a little puzzled why we were having to do so much “work” when they were at their play place, where they usually kick back and do whatever they feel like doing. We also went on a walk. I was excited about showing the teacher my loose leash walking because this is the one area in which I feel quite accomplished. They stay right next to me, no tangled leashes or tripping me up. They stop when I stop. Koda is always looking up at me, like “Is this ok, am I doing what you want? You like this?”

By the time our in-home lesson was done, the puppies were pooped out. They drank water and sprawled out on the floor. We will have their teacher back again one day soon, and maybe the next time they will get over the awkwardness a little sooner.

 

*More will be explained about their training in Friday’s movie. Stay tuned…

There is Nothing Like Sibling Love

On By Carolyn FreudenthalIn Deep Thoughts, FamilyLeave a comment

Koda and Summer are very lucky to live their days side by side, snuggling, playing and growing up. Most puppy siblings are separated around eight weeks old, joining new forever families. Occasionally people bravely adopt two littermates like we did. Ignoring the online naysayers, we moved forward in our quest for raising two Aussiedoodles from the same litter. Sister and brother. Siblings. Littermates. The main drawback that we were warned about is that they would become too attached. We have taken measures to boost their self esteem as individuals and given them plenty of attention one on one. I think that so far their attachment to each other and to their human family is healthy and balanced. That said, seeing their sweet sibling love makes me feel confident we made the right decision in bringing home siblings.

I have three sisters and cannot imagine my life without those siblings. We are close in age, a couple of years between each of us. My mom dressed us in coordinating dresses and pantsuits at holidays. My favorite was a black and white Partridge family-like vest and long plaid skirt. We played together in the house, running circles around the second story through the bedrooms and the jack-and-jill bathroom. We slid down the stairs on sleeping bags. We made up dances in the living room. We played quiet games like library, and noisy games like hide n seek. Four girls meant always someone to play with. Then we hit the teenage years, sharing the bathroom with one oval mirror over the one sink in the jack-and-jill bathroom. There were lots of fights. We argued about time in the bathroom, borrowing clothes, hogging the telephone, and just plain picking on one another. Somehow we also learned to fight those battles and then make up and clear the air. The moments when we felt close to one another remain my fondest memories, making up songs and skits to perform for my parents on their anniversaries, confiding in one another and supporting each other through hardships, laughing together about silly stuff, and taking memorable vacations as a family. The summer I turned 13 my parents had the crazy idea to rent a Minnie Winnie RV and take us on a road trip through Oregon, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada. I’m not sure the exact route because I just remember arguing and being bored, and listening to the soundtrack of America (the horse with no name…). I’m glad my parents took us on those trips, my world expanded and my treasure trove of family memories got fuller.

Now that we are all grown up, we live far away from one another. One in Hawaii, one in San Diego, and one in San Francisco.  Different zip codes and different time zones. We try to keep in touch often, even scheduling conference calls where we all chat together in the same virtual living room. There have been sister trips where we traveled to Mexico and Park City, but it could be anywhere and we’d find a way to laugh, talk, cry and just savor our sisterly time together.

My older sister visited me this past week, coming all the way from California to Virginia. The time we have spent together talking, laughing, and reminiscing feeds my soul. I have learned to live my life far from my parents and sisters because I had to. Two decades ago we moved across the country, and yet my heart still aches when I drive away from the airport after dropping them off. Time does not make the distance apart any easier. People who have their siblings nearby are very lucky. They should not take that for granted. My sister came to my sons’ football games. I envy the friends I have who have sisters can come every week to see their nephew play. Meeting for lunch, going to see a movie, shopping, taking walks, accompanying me to scary doctor appointments, being by my side in happy moments and sad times, these are all of what I miss out on in not having my siblings close-by.

Maybe somewhere inside my heart, I did not want that same longing inside Koda and Summer. I know that they say dogs forget. But just think of how much comfort they have given each other in this new setting. Look at how they love to play in the yard and on the sofa together. I see them resting on the floor with Summer resting her head on Koda’s legs and I think, “That is sibling love.”

Sibling Love
Sibling Love

You Win Some, You Lose Some

On By Carolyn FreudenthalIn Children, Deep Thoughts, FamilyLeave a comment

Losing stinks. No matter how you try to extract anything positive out of defeat, the plain truth is that losing does not feel as good as winning. This weekend I sat in the stands at two of my son’s football games, and both times when the clock ran out we had fewer points on the board than our opponents. Only hours before I had eagerly donned my spirit-wear (Knights last night then Demon Deacons today), and excitedly took my seat in the stadium with all the other families and fans. I cheered throughout the game. But as the gap widened between the other teams’ points and ours, the inescapable loss sunk in. Final score: the opposing team “a lot” and our team “not enough.” Ugh.

To be the athlete on the field and suffer the loss, it is harder to see the bright spots of the game. As the mother of the athlete, my perspective off of the field allows me to see things that make me happy and proud even though we lost. Last night my son had several players of the opposing team come up to him after the game and say, “Hey big guy, good game.” Then today after losing to a highly ranked Division 1 team, my older son did not let the disappointment keep him from coming out of the locker room and taking pictures with his visiting aunt. That resiliency is as important as a win, especially in life. “We will bounce back,” he said as I hugged him goodbye this evening.

Next week will be more football games, more opportunities to fight for a win, to bounce back from tough losses this weekend. While the puppies have little to do with these two football games and the losses we suffered, they are the sweet loving four legged family members who are there to give kisses and snuggles to cheer us up. Losing isn’t fun. At least Summer and Koda take some of the pain away. There’s always next week…

TGIF Trailer: Coming Soon “Smart Aussidoodles

On By Carolyn FreudenthalIn Comic Relief, Friday Film Days, Puppy TalesLeave a comment

Filming is now in progress for the movie, “Smart Aussiedoodles.” A lot of work is going into production of this epic film.  (A lot of work)

For this week, enjoy a sneak peak at the students featured in next week’s movie in “Aussiedoodle After School Special”