My name is Gail Groeneveld of Prairie Doodles in southern Alberta, Canada. I’ve been breeding the Australian Labradoodles for 16 years now and it’s been fun and challenging and exhausting and yet fulfilling. Our goal is always to place healthy, beautiful puppies with folks who will love them for their whole life. We take this very seriously and have had sleepless nights worrying about our puppies. :)
I have been a dog lover my whole life and my favourite childhood memory was when our family dog had puppies, thanks to the neighbours' dog who wasn’t neutered :) Of course in the late 60’s and early 70’s folks weren’t really spaying or neutering their dogs too much and we were no exception.
When I was 17 I had a beautiful dog named Pepper, she was a Shepherd/Saint Bernard mix and I told her all my woes, hopes and dreams :) I took her to an obedience class, and she was so well trained, it was so rewarding. When Gary and I got married in ‘81 we had a variety of different breeds leading up to Lucy, our first labradoodle, so I was able to see the different attributes of several different breeds.
In 1993 we got our Lab, Strider, who was a companion to our 4 sons growing up. He was amazing and smart and crazy and huge LOL. He was also hyperactive and chewed every single shoe, hose, furniture leg (outside), and he shed like a madman. But we loved him and in the one professional family photo, we are all posed and looking at the photographer and smiling, but ole Strider is staring at me and smiling :) That said it all. He loved and adored me. He lived to be 13 years old and it was around this time that we got our first Labradoodle, Lucy, and Prairie Doodles began it’s big adventure :)
Lucy was honestly the sweetest, funnest, most athletic, spoiled dog ever :) She knew how to get what she wanted and we all gladly catered to her. Spoiled but loved and she was part of our family and Jacob, our youngest, and Lucy were buddies. (she even went to his grad :))
When I began to breed the Labradoodles, I wanted to find wonderful homes for all my puppies. We pride ourselves on educating all our families. We have shopping lists, links and tips from everything from vets, to trainers, to groomers, to house training, we research food and recommend our favorites, and everything you can imagine you might need to be a successful puppy parent. We raise our puppies to the best of our abilities and we keep them healthy and clean and socialized. However the one thing that I believe in and yet didn’t talk about enough is BONDING and how important this one thing is for a successful life with your puppy.
Honestly, it doesn’t really matter which dog bed you buy, or if the dog food you choose isn’t my choice, but what does matter is whether or not you bond with your puppy.
The word BONDING means the process by which individuals become emotionally attached to one another. Normally, we would be thinking of the word as it relates to babies and parents but the bonding that happens between a puppy and a owner/family is also very important for the life of the dog. Through the years we have had a few situations where folks had to return their dogs due to some behavioural problem.
Now in most (not all) of these situations, upon looking back at them, it was very apparent that there was zero bonding to these dogs. In a couple instances, one spouse was bonded and loved the dog, but the other spouse did not have any affection or attachment to the dog and just wanted him gone. We had one family who actually couldn't bond because they were still attached to their deceased dog and all they did was compare the one to the other.
Thankfully this couple returned the puppy after a couple of weeks. They knew the importance of bonding with their puppy and I was very grateful to them for recognizing this. But we’ve had families who started out great, we had one such situation not too many years ago. They started off good, they had good intentions but I do believe that the dog became a chore, rather than part of the family.
What I believe happens is that over time, the prevailing attitude in the home, becomes one where the dog is a nuisance, they bring dirt into the home, they bark, they poop in the backyard (and sometimes the house) and negative behaviour is directed toward this beautiful creature who can’t audibly speak a language but can read body language and facial expressions and trust me they know whether or not they are loved. We had a family who was able to give up their dog (after several years), without any fuss or muss or tears or sorrow, just handed over the leash and didn’t even say good-bye.
Thankfully this particular dog was placed into a loving family and had a 2nd life with a family who loved him so much it didn’t matter if he ate their shoes or ran into the house with muddy paws. Floors can be mopped and shoes can be purchased again, but this living creature, is sensitive and intuitive and they know whether they are wanted or not. We had another situation, early on, where the dog lived in a crate for many hours of the day :( like being in a jail. The couple had babies and were too busy for him :( Can you imagine? It’s truly no wonder that this created a timid, shy, sad and reactive dog. It’s dog abuse to be sure.
Labradoodles need their families to love them. In my experience (I have raised many, many Labradoodles through the years) if the adult Labradoodle is having behaviour issues it can be traced back to a lack of bonding and love in the home toward the dog or puppy. As I was walking Elmer the other night it came to me that if your dog is a chore for you, if no one in the family wants to take him out for walks, or if you do go for walks but you take him to an off leash dog park and read your phone or you mostly lock him up in the garage, then in all likelihood you haven’t spent enough time bonding you need to change.
It's never too late.
So what should you do if you realize you’ve not lived up to your end of the relationship? Well to start it’s never too late. Lots of wonderful people rescue dogs, who were neglected in their homes, and they have a wonderful 2nd chance. But for you, the reader, if you haven’t bonded with your puppy/dog enough then begin spending time with your dog. Starting today, take him for a walk every single day. Dogs don’t care if it’s wet, cold, hot they only care if they are with you. Have treats along so you can encourage him to stay close and to enjoy being with you, and always use your happy voice :)
Relax and enjoy the fresh air along with your dog. Take an obedience class and do the 15 minutes a day practicing what you learned. You can also go for car rides and take along the dog. Go to the hills, go for a hike, spend time with your dog however that looks for you. When our niece and her husband adopted their daughter from Ethiopia, she was about 18 months old. They had her in a carrier on their chest for months because this was key to the bonding process. In this same way you can tether the puppy, or an adult dog, to you by attaching a leash to your waist and just go about your day. By doing this you will get to know your puppies ques very well plus he will get to know you very well.
Please take steps today that will make you love him more. If he’s naughty, then hire a trainer, if he’s messy, get him groomed up so he smells fresh and feels nice, if his breath smells get some dental chews, brush his teeth or take him to the vet for a cleaning. This is all part of being a responsible pet owner. They are a special creature given by God, to be our faithful companion here on this earth. We get to have them for such a short time, let’s give them a wonderful life as part of our family. One day you’ll look back on family photos and see this beloved puppy or dog and you’ll realize how much you miss them and you will wish you had more time with them. It’s amazing how the memories of our pets can still make us smile and laugh many many years later. The shoe chewing and toilet paper shredding, becomes something to giggle about :) My brothers and sister and I still smile, and reminisce about our dogs growing up.
Please take steps today that will make you love him more. If he’s naughty, then hire a trainer, if he’s messy, get him groomed up so he smells fresh and feels nice, if his breath smells get some dental chews, brush his teeth or take him to the vet for a cleaning.
One last thing, as I mentioned above, your dog will be with you for a very short time and one day they won’t be able to jump in the car, or go for a long walk with you. I remember the last walk I had with Lucy, Gary had to come in his truck, to pick her up from the field, because she couldn’t walk anymore :( And I remember walking with Strider down the driveway and he sat down at the end of the driveway and he looked up at me as if to say “You go ahead Gail I’ll be here waiting for you”. :(
One more last thing :) If you are contemplating getting a puppy and your spouse/significant other isn’t on board, please wait. Give it a season, or maybe two or three, and continue to research and perhaps one day they will come around, it’s not fair to the puppy or to your spouse. Give it time.
Turn a new leaf today and start enjoying your dog :) Have a blessed day!
““Dogs’ lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you’re going to lose a dog, and there’s going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can’t support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There’s such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware that it comes with an unbearable price.” ”