Can I be a good puppy parent?

I found a warm spot

2005-02-12T14:49:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by TauDelt.

Tasha's new favorite place in the house in the door mat on the front room where the warm sun from the sunroof shines in. She will bring all of her toys to that spot and play with them and often nap there when she is not feeling like napping on the sofa or in her kennel.

She's eating again

2005-02-12T14:01:00.000-05:00

3
Originally uploaded by TauDelt.

It seems as though her reluctance to eat has subsided. She's now getting to be about 10 pounds and she is solidly eating most of hear meals. Sometimes though she likes to play in the middle of her meal. She also will often put her paw in the food bowl and knock the food around the floor like it's something she needs to chase. She's obviously having fun.

I'm cold... let me in!

2005-01-23T10:58:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by TauDelt.

Tasha had difficulty finding scents and ended up peeing all over the backyard instead of her place since she couldn't find where she had marked before.

Of course, each time she had to play around in the snow and chase it. Debbie built a snowman in the back yard and we made snowballs for Tasha to chase around. She seemed to love it, always wanting to go back out into the snow just to have a good time.

And the snows came...

2005-01-23T10:55:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by TauDelt.

So the DC area got a lot of snow the weekend after the inauguration. Tasha was very funny in the snow, trying to find the scents in the back yard that she was used to, and chasing the snow around since it kept running away from her. She kept putting her face into the snow and came out looking quite the abominable snow-pup.

Tasha is not eating very much

2005-01-19T10:08:00.000-05:00

For the past several days, Tasha has not been eating very much of her
meals. She is supposed to eat between 1-3/4 and 2-1/2 cups of dry food
each day split over three meals. We have been regular about the time and
conditions of her meals, but she is only eating about half of what is in
her bowl or less. I wonder if we need to go back to the mixture that the
breeder gave us, including some of the breeders food in the Iams puppy
food. Also I wonder if we should go back to moistening the kibble as
well. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

Tasha makes a new friend...maybe?

2005-01-18T22:09:00.000-05:00

Last night Tasha slept through the night completely for the second night in a row. Yeah! But, I did not, since I kept hearing the barking of a neighbor's dog. I guess I was so attuned to Tasha needing to go out in the night that I was listening for it in my sleep. Well it turns out that our next door neighbors adopted an 8-week old black lab puppy named George.

We introduced Tasha and George together and they were not quite sure of each other at first, but then they started playing. Since this was only George's second full day away from his litter, we were thinking George was a bit out of sorts anyway. Tasha was very much the dominant one, but then George got lively. Their play was very rambunctious, with lots of growling and biting and barking at each other. It seemed as though they were having a good time with each other though. No one got hurt, but they never really calmed down from the wrestling and biting play. We think they were on good terms with each other when we left, but what do I know. Hopefully Tasha did not inflict too much psychological damage and we are invited back.

Update on the asthma

2005-01-18T07:29:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned earlier, I was premedicating in case of an asthmatic reaction by taking Singulair before we got Tasha. After about three days with her, I stopped taking Singulair, and since then I am thrilled to report that I have had no issues with my asthma at all. I even did a nebulizer test while at the allergist and they said that everything looked clear and clean. Hopefully this will stick!

Her first vet visit

2005-01-17T21:00:00.000-05:00

Tasha was great at the vet. She walked to the vet from our house (4 blocks) very well on the leash. Actually it was her second time on the leash and she was doing great. We are not yet trying to train her to heel but she doesn't pull at the leash or roam anyplace away from us.

Dr. Ortiz at the Del Ray Animal Hospital examined Tasha and said that she was in great shape, administered a distemper vaccine and a heartworm blocker, and announced that Tasha was 7 pounds 12 ounces. Wow is she growing fast. Tasha hardly even flinched at the shot and didn't even bark once. Couldn't say that about the rest of the dogs at the vet. This probably will be the only time.

Tasha's favorite place in the house...

2005-01-17T20:59:00.000-05:00

P1150024
Originally uploaded by TauDelt.

is certainly not her crate or her food bowl. It is on the down pillows of the sofa in the living room. One afternoon, Tasha lept up onto the sofa with no help from either of us. Mind you, she has not been able to do it since, but she tries over and over again each day. If she had a choice about where she would lounge away the days, she would be on this couch with her chewy bone that she is so carefully guarding in this shot.

Now I don't blame her one bit. It is one of the most comfortable sofas I've ever been on. I must admit it is a great place for a nap. I'm just surprised that she learned so quickly.

Her favorite toy

2005-01-17T20:34:00.000-05:00

Jay and Beth got her a stuffed hedgehog that makes grunting sounds when it is squeezed. She loves it! she will always attack it and pounce on it chewing to her heart's delight.

So how about the allergies?

2005-01-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

It seems as though my allergies are really tolerating Tasha quite well. All I have really noticed is some itchy eyes and some breaking out on my hands in the evenings, but otherwise I have not suffered from my usual sniffling or shortness of breath or anything.

Granted I was premedicating as a precaution with Singulair, Astelin, and Clarinex. But through the week, I have stopped the Astelin with no problem and may also stop the Singulair this week. We'll see, maybe I can even stop the Clarinex after a while.

I spoke with the allergist again, and he said that he was going to increase the dog antigens in my allergy shot serum. Maybe that will help overall as well.

P.S. The doc was so excited that he was interested in Gleneden. Apparently he wants to get a labradoodle for his son.

First week without sleep

2005-01-17T20:08:00.000-05:00

Well, the first week was certainly a learning experience, and not one with much sleep for me at least. The first few nights we decided that we should keep her in her crate at the side of our bed. That way I could reach my arm down and she would know that we were near her. Each night though she was up at regular 2-3 hour intervals needing to be let outside. The third night we figured that we should try to have her downstairs. Well I was so tired from the first few nights that I slept through her barking to be let out. While she did not mess her crate she did puke everywhere. Everyone seemed to think it was puppy anxiety puke, rather than go through that again, we (I) decided back to the bedrom with her for bedtime. We have since moved her further away from the bed itself, and last night she slept through the night completely for the first time. Yippee!!!

Exploring the yard

2005-01-11T20:06:00.000-05:00

P1080008
Originally uploaded by TauDelt.

So we let her loose in the back yard, letting her figure out where she was and that this was her space. Immediately she ran under the holly bushes and decided to hang there a while. She must've known that that was the perfect place to go hide since nothing would bother her there. At least until one of us decided we had to go in and get her.

We got Tasha to explore other parts of the yard and she already found some favorite places to roll around and get dirty. Namely the mum beds. I wonder what she'll do when those plants start coming up in the spring?

She was still quite unsure of herself, tentative about everything... but what would you expect from the first day away from her siblings.

Oh, by the way, we learned that Tasha is one of a litter of 10 (!!) and both of her parents are lighter than 50 pounds so the breeder in thinking that she will only grow to about 40 pounds. Perfect!

Once all the papers were signed...

2005-01-11T19:55:00.000-05:00

P1080005
Originally uploaded by TauDelt.

Once we decided that we had to take Tasha home and had all the papers signed, we thought that we should have her try to relieve herself before we left. Boy, did this turn into a comedy of errors since she immediately went under the car and it took us 10 minutes to coax her out. I gether she was still pretty frightened from the whole experience, but after Debbie and I were rolling around on the ground from one end of the car to the other, she finally had enough of our game and came out. We put her in her crate and were finally off.

She was pretty nervous most all of the drive home and a bit motion sick as well, but she did great for the first hour of the ride (and equally as well once she was sick). We got her home and then the real adventures began.

Aren't I the cutest ever?

2005-01-08T18:04:00.000-05:00

Tasha is so cuddly!
Originally uploaded by TauDelt.

Saturday morning, we woke up early to head to the far reaches of Virginia and the Gleneden breeder. Berryville is a good 90 minutes from Alexandria, but deep into Virginia horse country.

Gleneden is an extremely impressive operation; they raise horses, corghis (?), and labradoodles all on a wide expansive farm that seemed to go on forever. Judy Hahn leads the operation and was so friendly and helpful, letting us play with the puppy in our car before deciding whether I could withstand the pup with my allergies.

Tasha in the car with Debbie
Originally uploaded by TauDelt.

Well I must say it was love at first sight. She was so adorable and cuddly. Granted she was just bathed and blown dry, but she still was so affectionate. And as soon as she licked my nose, we just had to take her home.

Tasha is only 8 weeks old, born on November 7, 2004, and weighs in at 6 pounds.

Getting ready...

2005-01-07T21:22:00.000-05:00

Just in case, I'm getting prepped with my meds. I feel like a drug store: Clarinex, Singulair, Advair, Albuterol, Prednisone... Always pays to be prepared.

Tomorrow is the big day!

2005-01-07T08:18:00.000-05:00

So we finally got through PetSmart getting the initial group of food, grooming products, bedding, and the like for a quick $220 out of the wallet. I had to bring my wife so I wouldn't be too overwhelmed and she would prevent me from putting everything in the cart.

We have the place in the house set up for Tasha's pen, all we need now is Tasha.

I spoke with the breeder concerned about my allergies and adopting Tasha. The breeder said that they will have me play with the puppy in my car for 15 minutes or so to see if I react. If no then we are on. If yes then I am puppiless. I'm still a bit anxious. I hope it works out ok.

My first experience at PetSmart...

2005-01-06T12:14:00.000-05:00

So Tuesday afternoon I went into PetSmart to do some initial shopping so she would have the right stuff ready for her when we brought her home. First of all, PetSmart is HUGE! I almost didn't know what to expect. So many choices, and half of the place is just for food! I started to put stuff in the shopping cart - which by the way was as big as the carts that they have at Costco -- but I became so overwhelmed I had to just leave. 95 different kinds of food and treats; hundreds of different leashes and collars; and the toys!

Isn't she cute?

2005-01-06T09:35:00.000-05:00

Originally uploaded by TauDelt.

How could we resist her? We are thinking that Tasha (short for Natasha) might be a good name for her. I've showed her photo around the office and all the women around want to come over and visit with her. I've even had offers for puppy-sitting already. Ah, the power of an adorable puppy.

There's a puppy available!!!

2005-01-06T09:16:00.000-05:00

So before we knew it the holiday's were upon us. We had spoken with our respective parents and everyone was moderately excited for us about the prospects. When we came back from holiday, in our email waiting for us to return was a note saying that a puppy was available born on November 7 and ready to be adopted on January 7.

Idling my time waiting for a labradoodle...

2005-01-05T17:00:00.000-05:00

So, I never really expected to be "approved" to adopt a puppy, but there it was. So I figured I should look more into what it would take to raise a dog newly acquired from a breeder and what it would do to my (and my wife's) life.

It turns out that there is no end to the differing opinions of how to raise a puppy. Some advocate only hand feeding as praise for responding well to training; others say to only feed at set feeding times. Put the puppy in a crate; don't put the puppy in a crate. What seems to be in common is that we need to plan to be home a lot during its developmental weeks until it can get used to being home alone and work with our schedules.

A book published some time ago called "How to Raise a Dog When Nobody's Home!" by Jerry Climer has been of particular help. Coupled with "How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With" by Clarice Rutherford and David H. Neil, we have some good insight on what to expect on the first day.

I'm still generally anxious and moderately confused about what to do. Oh well.

What the allergist said...

2005-01-04T18:16:00.000-05:00

Well, the allergist was not entirely keen on the idea of my getting a dog. He said, "The best thing you can do is limit your exposure to the allergens. This will keep you in healthy condition."

"Great," I thought.

"But if you must have a dog..." the allergist continued, "I would recommend a Labradoodle."

"A what?!?"

"A Labradoodle is a crossbreed between a Labrador Retreiver and a Poodle." My allergist explained that, "They were initially bred in Australia to be service animals for the blind and hearing impaired that had dog allergies. Specifically you should look for what is known as a 'back-bred' or 'F1B' Labradoodle since they have the greatest non-allergenic properties."

Well, this got me started looking at Labradoodles. Aside from the moderately silly name that never fails to raise a chuckle, I figured, what was the harm?

So I checked into what he said about the Australian breeding. The Labradoodle Association of Australia has a discussion of the initial breeding of the first labradoodles. This got me even more interested in this unusual breed. There are numerous web sites dedicated to Labradoodles, including but not limited to:

http://labradoodle.com -- site for the premier Australian Labradoodle breeder
http://www.labradoodle-dogs.com -- provides basic information about this mixed-breed
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/labradoodle.htm -- further specific information

It turns out that there are a number of Labradoodle breeders throughout the mid-Atlantic. The one I finally settled on was Gleneden Labradoodles in Berryville, Virginia, near the West Virginia border. Other than being relatively close to DC, Gleneden seemed to be folks that care more about matching good dogs with good people rather than breeding dogs for profit. They raise all sorts of other animals, with horses being their primary focus. They also have been so helpful in the consideration process that I could not be happier.

I contacted Gleneden by email asking about the availability of a puppy for adoption. They replied with an application I had to complete. While the application was not as bad as a college application, I did have to answer questions such as:
"Does every member of your household agree to adoption of a puppy?"
"What do you plan to do with your puppy when you go on vacation?"
"Who is your veterinarian?"
"Describe the enclosure in which you plan to keep the puppy (indoors and outdoors)."

Relatively soon after returning the application, I received a follow-up email saying that we were approved and that they would notify us when they had a puppy available for adoption. This was in late October 2004. We told them in the application that we were not ready until after January 1, 2005, since we were going on international travel for the holidays and did not want to have to address puppy needs prior to our return.

So the wait began...

Choosing the right breed...

2005-01-04T16:38:00.000-05:00

So my next task was to determine the right breed of dog for me, especially considering my physical ailment as well as my lifestyle. Both my wife and I are professionals in the Washington DC area, so we are both out of the house for 6-8 hours a day or more.

With all the breeds out there, we had lots of research to do. Rather than bore you with all the dry details of my research, I found several breeds that are anecdotally "hypoallergenic" or "low- to non-shedding". I've listed the primary pure breeds below with my own editorializations and with pictures if you are not sure what these breeds look like. Props to the American Kennel Club for the beautiful imagery. If you are interested in the specific breeds, click on the name of the breed and you will be taken to the proper page on the AKC site.

Standard, Miniature, and Toy Poodles

Other than not seeing myself as a poodle person, or wanting to have a dog that looks like that, there is nothing wrong with poodles themselves. They bond to the entire family and can be great with children. Poodles however do get quite large and can be somewhat intimidating because of their size (maybe also to make up for the unusual hairdo).
Chihuahuas

Small, hyperactive, and somewhat odd, chihuahuas are supposedly allergy friendly. Not for me.
Portuguese Water Dogs

Beautiful dogs, but I read that they are particularly temperamental, particularly if not exercised enough. These are working dogs, bred to work all day long; leaving this breed alone during the day will lead to boredom for the dog and trouble for me (and my house).
Irish Terriers

Frankly, not cute enough. Irish Terriers are very much guard dogs and I am looking more for a playful companion rather than an working dog.
Bichon Frise

OK, almost the definition of cute. Bichons are vey nice dogs, but through personal experience not as hypoallergenic as some claim. Plus they tend to do best when partnered with their littermates, and we are not about to get more than one puppy.

Additionally, the 1998 American Kennel Club allergy information page also lists the Bedlington Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, Kerry Blue Terrier, Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Maltese, Italian Greyhound, Basenji and the Chinese Crested as suitable dog breeds for allergic people.

While looking at each of these breeds, I figured that I would talk to an expert... my allergist.

Welcome!

2005-01-04T16:00:00.000-05:00

My name is Larry and I am a soon-to-be puppy parent. This will be my first time owning a puppy, and I am both nervous and excited about the prospect. So you are saying to yourself: "Why is this guy any different than anyone else?" Well, I have been allergic to dogs since I was 5 years old, and I have been craving the companionship of a dog for quite some time. I can't wait for that new puppy to come into my home.

I'm 34 years old, married to a beautiful woman, and live in the Del Ray section of Alexandria, Virginia. Del Ray is a lovely community where everyone knows their neighbor, and everyone either has young kids or dogs or both. Right now, we seem to be in the very small minority of people in Del Ray with neither. Well... not for long.

Because of my allergies, I have had to do extensive research on the breed of dog that I could more easily tolerate without going into sneezing fits, asthmatic distress, or anaphylactic shock. Several breeds are anecdotally considered allergic-friendly with low- to no-shed coats. What most people don't seem to understand that in most people with dog allergies, it is not an issue of the hair shedding. Rather, the issue is related to the dander and whether the dog releases dander that is more or less allergenic.

What is dander? Dander is basically small flakes of skin that are shed from all animals (including people too, but we often call it dandruff). Dander can be so small that it is often airborne in homes and easy for people to breathe. Most experts think that dander is nearly impossible to eliminate but they also say that it can be controlled.

Bearing this in mind, I embarked on my search for the breed that was right for me...