Learning To Swim

Some of my Doodle friends are embarrassed 'cause they are scared of the water and don't know how to swim. I try to tell them that swimming is cool, but they don't always believe me.

I must admit that I also used to be scared of the water. the first time Momsy and Popsy took me to the beach, I barked at the waves and chased them back out to sea. But they kept coming back! And they splashed me! I didn't know what to make of this.

When we moved to Vermont, we had our own pool with a dirt bottom (Popsy called it a "pond"). I liked to wade around the edge, getting my feet wet and looking at the little frogs and lizards. One day, I saw a bunch of yellow, orange and red things on top of the water and I thought I'd walk out to investigate. I was so excited that I jumped, and before I knew it, I was swimming. Popsy didn't have his camera with him, but here's a picture of our pond.

One day, Popsy and Momsy took me to a really big pond, called Cochiti Lake in New Mexico. We met up with my pal, Rocky, who lives with Rosalie in Albuquerque. I learned very quickly that it's most fun to have a buddy to swim with. Rocky showed me how to dive off the end of a dock. We had a great time running along the shore together.

We also shared Rocky's Frisbee.

Swimming in a pond or lake is the best fun, 'cause the water doesn't taste salty like the ocean (wonder why?), there are no waves to scare you, and the bottom is nice and squishy on your paw pads. But, in a pinch, I'll also swim in a cement swimming pool. We had one of those when Momsy and Popsy took me to Florida during the winter (they decided that Vermont was too cold). The first time I saw a pool, I wasn't sure that it was for me. I dropped my ball in the water, and I was scared to go in after it.

But, once I tested the water,

There was no stopping me!!

So remember, all you Doods and Doodettes. Swimming is fun. Just don't lose that life preserver!

My Eleventh Birthday

Yesterday was my 11th birthday, and people (including my doodle pals) have been asking me what I did to celebrate the occasion. I've decided, though, that it would be much simpler to tell everyone what I didn't do on my birthday.

I didn't go running at the beach, because four-legged people aren't supposed to run around on La Jolla beaches.

I didn't go swimming in a pool, 'cause we don't have one at our house.

I didn't play with the big ball, because (blush) the last time I played with it, I tried too hard to pick it up and it stopped being a ball.

I didn't have a date with my beautiful Daph-o-Dil, because she wasn't in town.

I didn't jump for snowballs, 'cause there isn't ever any snow around here (Momsy says "thank goodness")

I didn't lurk in the tall grass waiting to pounce on a wild turkey, 'cause we don't have any wild turkeys around here (I chased off a cat that trespassed into my back yard, though).

I didn't even get a birthday cake!!

So, what did I do on my birthday?

I took Momsy and Popsy for a long walk to the local Muttropolis, where the nice lady behind the counter gave me a fistfull of treats.

And I curled up on my favorite chair to dream about all the things I didn't do on my 11th birthday.

My New Title

I've been dubbed. I am a knight! I just don't know what I've done to deserve the honor.

Could it be my many patient hours of staring out the window on sentry duty?

Or was it my non-stop efforts to maintain the pristine condition of the swimming pool?

Perhaps it was my time on lifeguard duty,

My ability to mediate family disputes,

Or the way I help out with household chores like making the bed.

Maybe it's just my attention to personal hygiene,

Or my ability to trap bats.

Whatever the reason, I now have a title to go alongside my school diploma.

But there's something else I don't understand. 

Why, oh why was I dubbed Sir Barksalot??

Family Connections

It makes me sad that so many of my fellow pooches don't know where they came from, and never meet up with their relatives. As I approach my eleventh birthday, I like to think about all the relatives I have met since I crossed the (Pacific) pond to the USA.

The first relative I met was my Uncle Charlie Brown. He's a big, brown, handsome guy, and was my Dad's half-brother. Uncle Charlie is about a year older than I am, and he taught me all sorts of things that a young doodle needed to know, like how to play 'chase me.' 

He was a very thoughtful teacher and sometimes let me catch him and wrestle him to the ground

I was reunited with one of my litter mates, Moccasin, shortly after we both arrived in SoCal. It didn't take us very long to become reacquainted. We had a great time wrestling together in my yard.

I was a perfect host and let Moccasin pin me first

Then it was my turn

After we had calmed down, our folks took us for a walk. I loved showing off my Bro' at Powerhouse Park, even though he wouldn't sit still for our picture

Moccasin and I had another reunion a few months later, when I introduced him to Daphne, my first and only true love. 

He tried to make time with her

But she let him know in no uncertain terms that she was already spoken for

I'm proud to say that Daphne and I are still an item. She came to visit me a few weeks ago, and brought her kid sister - my niece Chloe - along for the ride.

My beautiful Daphne

Daphne and me, rekindling our romance

This is Chloe. Can you see the family resemblance?

I'll have more stories about my furry and human family members in future posts.

Wags 'n' slurps,
Quintzy

Sharing

The concept of sharing is alien to many humans. Any doodle - or any doggie, for that matter - who wants to live a happy life with his or her humans MUST teach them to share. This is not an easy concept to teach.

When I was a younger doodle, I met my cousin, Jazz, for the first time. She was a Labrador Retriever, but I didn't hold that against her. After all, I'm part Lab, too.

Because I was so much younger than Jazz, I tired her out. 

In self-defense, Jazz decided to teach me the 'Share the Kong' game. She would give the Kong to a human, who would throw it for us to chase after. Usually, I would get to the Kong first, 'cause I was much younger and faster than my cousin. At first, I would try to get her to chase me for the toy. But Jazz had a better idea. She taught me to lie down in the grass, with the toy between my front legs. Once I was settled, Jazz would walk in a big circle around me, then squat to potty. I would get up to inhale her special scent, allowing Jazz to swoop up the Kong and bring it back to a human for another throw. We used to play 'Share the Kong' whenever I came to visit.

I tried to teach this game to my Momsy and Popsy, but they refused to learn. I think it had something to do with not wanting to squat and potty outside. Never did figure that one out!! However, I have been able to teach my humans the concept of sharing, although I must admit that my success rate is less than 100%.

They're always happy to share visits to the dentist

And they're very good about sharing friends and family with me

They even are happy to share snow!

I've taught them to share toys.

And to share a sofa.

But no matter how hard I try,

They won't share their food with me.

I didn't even get a slice of the chocolate cake that Popsy baked in MY bowls!!

Training Your Humans With Treats

Humans are smart. Take it from one who knows! This makes them quite easy to train - once you figure out what treats to use. Fortunately, most humans are food motivated, and will work for treats that are easily available to the average Doodle. With patience, practice and the appropriate rewards, there are many tricks that you can teach your humans. Here are just a few of the most important behaviors to teach your human family and their friends.

Polite greeting

Posing patiently for a picture

Dancing

Walking calmly side-by-side

Of course, not everybody is equally easy to train. First, you must find the best treat to motivate your humans.

Orange wedges, watermelon cubes and blueberries all are effective training treats.

Throwing your toys for your human to play with is also a good training tool.

If all else fails, there's always CHOCOLATE CAKE!!

Socializing Your Human Companions

One of the very first things any doggie must do after joining a human family is to teach his or her humans good social skills. The most important of these skills is called The Cuddle.

Here is an illustration of a One-on-One Cuddle

This is a Two-on-One Cuddle

I call this variation the One-on-Two Cuddle

I must admit that I enjoy a Three-on-One Cuddle even more than the Two-on-One

Finally, here is the Sequential Group Cuddle, demonstrated by students at The Winston School

Socializing is an acquired skill for humans and must be practiced as often as possible. Humans are sensitive to different situations, and you must insist that your humans practice their socialization skills over and over again, and in as many different environments as possible. If humans are not well socialized, they might yell at other humans or other dogs, shake their fists, or snap and snarl. Definitely NOT acceptable behavior!

In my next post I'll discuss how you can train your humans to work for treats.

Wags 'n' woofs,

Quintzy