This Funky Junky

BeiBei spent the weekend at my sister's house, while we were in New Orleans for a wedding.
She blogged about the weekend, here.  She is has a great blog called "This Funky Junky".  Read it!

Bei is growing up!

And now, 9 months old....just about full grown!

 She's about 55 lbs.  

I love her a little too much.

Cozy Bei.

Remember this...

Well, this is a good one too...

This is her one of her favorite spots.  She's not hiding...I think she just feels cozy in there.  

(They say dogs are "den" animals by nature.)

Oh...Bei.

Prison Break

Chris and I have become addicted to watching Prison Break (starting with Season 1).
I am especially into it.  I carry the sense of danger and suspense with me all day and constantly feel like I am in adventure.

Apparently BeiBei has gotten a few tips from Michael Scofield, and is also planning her escape...

She's so close to freedom she can taste it. 

Big Girl Bed

BeiBei has been such a good dog, that we decided it was time for her to get a big-girl-bed!

The kennel is going to the attic.
I know we should be crate-training her all the way through the first year, at least.  I don't know what happened, we got off track somewhere along the way.  It was hard to do the kennel training fully because neither of us could come home to let her out midday.  But she's been doing great without her kennel...and she loves her new bed!

I got this bed at Garden Ridge.  I snatched it up, because it's the only one I've seen anywhere that's not hideous.

Rock N' Roll Doggie Do

As BeiBei continues to grow bigger and her hair gets longer and shaggier, I'm realizing that I really do have to brush her coat a few times a week.  I have been brushing it 1-2 times a week, and I have been pretty successful at preventing mats, up until lately.  I'm beginning to find small mats here and there.  So I think as her hair gets longer, she's starting to need it more like 2-3 times a week.
She is basically a non-shedding dog, which is very low maintenance, but I guess the trade off is that I have to brush her.  She's fairly cooperative, but still resists me a little bit.

A friend send me a link to a blog called "Simply Seleta" where they gave their goldendoodle, Pippi, a hilarious haircut!  They live near a creek and so their dog was always getting so muddy, which caused her to get very matted.  When they took the dog to the groomer, the groomer said she would have to be shaved basically to the skin.  They came up with this compromise:

She reminds me of an 80s hair band.  

This family was sad to shave their goldendoodle down, but they had a great sense of humor about it!

For now, I hope to keep my little furball..."fluffed"...so I guess I'll bump up my brushing regimen.

   

Mountain Getaway

We had a blast this past weekend with some old friends.  We went up to Chris's grandmother's mountain house near Ashville, NC.  It was great to relax and be with friends.  As much as I love the beach, when I'm at the beach I feel pressure to be by the water and in the sun.  And sometimes sitting in 90 degree weather, remembering to flip and reapply sunscreen...can feel like a lot of work, when I'd rather be inside in my pjs.  It was nice to be in the mountains, and not really have pressure to do...anything at all.  We slept in, lazied around the house, rode around on the golf cart, and did some afternoon trail/creek walking.  The boys played golf one day, and we went into town one night for dinner.  It was fun...thanks Gannons and Clintons for joining us!

Of course, we took BeiBei with us, and she had a blast!  She frolicked in the creeks, hiked up the waterfall, and generally just LOVED being around 6 people at once...even though one of them is a dawg-hater.    

 The girls stayed behind and watched while the guys and dog hiked the falls.  

The mountain house is basically right on the golf course, and so it was fun for the girls to catch up with the guys for a golf cart ride on the last few holes.  

Thanks for reading!

Hide and Seek

I often find Bei like this...
She loves to be under our bedskirt or curtains.

Tired of seeing pictures of my dog?
Sorry, but no one forces you to read this blog!  Do they?
*If someone is forcing you to read this blog, please report your complaint to 1-877-STOP-FORCING-ME.

Rockin' Goldendoodle

I stumbled across this pic on the web, which coincidentally was taken by my old friend, Troy, that I met when I lived in Los Angeles.  I love this pic, so I just had to share...

Photo by Troy Grover at www.troygrover.com

Though this look is pretty awesome, I don't think BeiBei will ever be sporting that because we cut her bangs so she can see!  She has huge almond eyes and I don't want to hide them or give her a life of blindness.  But this dog is super cute!

Here's some recent pictures of the Bei, herself, cause you know I can't resist...

These are her two favorite spots in the house.

 Sleeping bear...

Myth Busters: Goldendoodle Edition

Here's the Before & After for BeiBei's trip to the groomer to get a "summer cut".

Before:

After:

Isn't it drastic!!!

Just kidding, you're not seeing things.  She is exactly the same, just a little cleaner and fluffier. 

Let me start from the beginning.  When we first got our goldendoodle, I asked our vet if she would need to be cut down for the summer.  He said that her fur insulates her from heat, and she won't need to be cut down at all.  I also read this on a website I found online.  So, Chris and I have been holding true to this philosophy and were committed to leaving her hair long for the summer.  (We think it's so cute, and it saves the cost of grooming!). 

But then everywhere I looked I kept seeing goldendoodles & labradoodles that were getting shaved down for the summer months.  One of our neighbors shaved theirs, and said she seemed so much happier.  Well, I started feeling guilty and started to question the wise advice of our vet.  So I made an appointment for her to be groomed.  I was so sad about having to get her cut down, and we were sad about the $90 it was going to cost us!  (See yesterday's post)

I reluctantly dropped her off at the groomer yesterday morning where she would stay all day.  

When I returned to pick her up after work, she had been shampood, conditioned, moisturized, blown dry, brushed, toenails clipped, teeth cleaned, ears cleaned...but not cut.  

They were running behind schedule and so they invited me back to watch her get trimmed.  When I went back, I started chatting with the groomer.  

 Here's how our conversation went:

ME:  I am so sad to get her cut!  I hate it, but she's been so hot, so I feel like I have to.

GROOMER:  Well, if you get her cut, she's gonna be even hotter.  She's cooler with her coat on.  It protects her from the heat.

ME:  Really?  Well, that's what my vet said, but everywhere I go I see doodles with summer haircuts.  Are you sure, cause she has been SO HOT outside!

GROOMER:  Well, of course she has.  It's really hot outside!  Aren't you hot too?

ME:  Well, yeah.  But all she does is pant!

GROOMER:  Yeah, dogs are gonna pant in the summer.  It's just what they do.  She's gonna be hot, but so is every dog.  She will be fine!  She's not gonna overheat.  As long as she has some shade she'll be fine. 

(I was thinking, okay I know I heard this from my vet.  But coming from someone who makes a living giving doggie haircuts, this MUST BE TRUE!)

ME:  Well, is she hotter than other dogs?  Is this breed just really not meant to be outside in hot weather. 

GROOMER:  No, she is fine!  She doesn't have a tight thick coat.  She has a light and airy coat.  It's totally different. 

ME:  Well...why are we cutting her then? 

GROOMER:  I don't know.  She looks good.  I can tell you brush her and take care of her.  The only reason to cut down a goldendoodle is if their fur gets matted, and she doesn't have any mats. 

ME:  Well...I guess, don't cut her!  Or just do the basic stuff to clean her up while we're here. 

They went ahead and trimmed around her eyes, sanitary grooming, trimmed between her paws (she slips and slides all over our hardwood floors), and shaved her belly down (which does help to keep her cool).  

They adjusted my bill from $90 to $45.  

It's hilarious to think, now, that we basically paid $50 for our dog to have a day at the DOGGIE SPA!  

Needless to say, she has never looked so glamorous!  

I decided to have a little photoshoot to make it all worthwhile.    

(Notice the panting...but don't be alarmed.)

(BTW, she has the longest tounge ever!)

Moral of the story:  Trust your vet.  A simple phone call to the breeder will likely suffice to get the info you need for your dog.  Doggie Spa days are an expensive way to get your info.

*The advice I recieved from the groomer was specific to goldendoodles, I don't know anything about other breeds or mixes. 

In the Birmingham, AL area I reccommend Doggie Styles groomers.  Their facility was clean and professional, the groomers were very nice, and they were honest with me about doing what was best for my dog!

Doggie Styles
195 West Valley Ave Ste 124
B'ham, AL 35209
205-917-3718

Bei in the USA

Just a few update pics on our cute pup, BeiBei...
(She's a goldendoodle and she's 5 months old now)

With her head in my lap...

Snuggling on couch in my lap...

After a bath...

So that's our BeiBei!  

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

They grow up so fast...

Our goldendoodle puppy, BeiBei, is getting so big!  We got her February 28th.  Here are a few pictures from then until now.  

Here she is as just a little tike, taking a potty break on the way home from the hospital place where we bought her. (Feb 28)

Then she grew up, just a little...(March 10)

Now just look at her!  She's getting all growed up!

 (April 11)

Here with a sunkist can for scale...

(I'm a nerd I know)

Is she the cutest dog, or what?

She's 23 lbs now (went to vet today), and she's almost 3 1/2 months old.  The vet says whatever a dog's weight is at 4 months is usually about half their size full grown.  She we are expecting about a 50lb dog.  Some goldendoodles can be close to 100lbs, so we are glad she's a small one! 

She's getting so fluffy.  She is so snuggly, but loves to play too.  She plays with Chris and snuggles with me.  She gets so frustrated she can't fit in my lap in my lap anymore.  Every time she slides off my lap, so climbs back up.

She knows sit, stay, come, drop it, and off.  She's learning fetch, but doesn't have the hang of it completely yet.  She still has a little separation anxiety, but it is SO much better.  We are working with her on not jumping up on people or objects.  She's getting a lot better with it.  

She's not doing it as much anymore, but it's taking us a while to get her to stop nipping us and our clothes for play.  I read that, whenever she nips you you should squeal "Ow!", and then leave the room.  This is what puppies do when their playing with each other.  If one dog plays too rough, the other will squeal and walk away.  I have been doing this with BeiBei when she nips at me, and it has made a big difference. 

She sleeps on her back, by the way...

BeiBei's area is lookin' a little better these days, so I have to post a picture to redeem the mess that was posted on my blog when we first got her...

Here's a video of BeiBei and Niko (the other neighborhood goldendoodle puppy, that's 1 month older than BeiBei) having a little impromptu play date in the back of Chris's truck.  Can you tell which is which?

If you wanna read more about BeiBei, such as where we got her and how we decided to get a goldendoodle, read my posts:

We're Puppy Shopping!

3 States & a Dog

Life with a baby, I mean a BeiBei

Designer Dog Bedding