DIY Dog Biscuits

It's National Dog Day! I am such a dog lover, but not one of those crazy obsessive righteous one. I just love my puppies and love to spoil them. I have always grown up with dogs. My parents had a dog before I was born, Max. Max was around for the first fourteen years of my life. He was a Black Lab/ Border Collie mix.  He was a fun dog for most of his life, but as he grew older he became a little grouchy. When I was about seven years old, we adopted a Golden Retriever, Mocha, that dropped out of a program to help those in need because he refused to train.  Mocha was the most lovable dog. He let us dress him up and cuddle with him endlessly. I think my brother and I were convinced that he was actually Air Bud from the famous Disney movie. When I turned ten, I had saved up enough money (I think) to buy my own dog. I wanted a dog that I could "carry around with me". I ended up finding an add for Yorkshire Terrier puppies during my search, and my parents went with me to pick up our perfect puppy, Riley.  He was fifteen pounds and thought he was the size of a Great Dane. He was probably my family's favorite dog. Sadly, we lost him about five months ago. You can read about that tragedy here. I haven't been able to write a post about him and losing a pet because it still feels too new and hurts. 

Anyways, on a more happier note. If you've been following along, then you know that we now have two new puppies in our family. Todd and I got a Goldendoodle, Brody, in October. My parents got a Mini Goldendoodle, Graham, in November. They have brought so much love and happiness to our home.  We enjoy taking them for walks, throwing the ball at the dog park, watching them play, taking them to pictures with Santa, buying them new toys, and cuddling with them. You can read about what life with puppies is like here and here. Every day is a different adventure when it comes to having a fourth month and six month old puppies.

If you want to keep up with their adventures, then be sure to follow them on Instagram!

Brody: TheDoodleBrody

Graham: The.Grahamster.Doodle

Today we are celebrating National Dog Day with homemade dog treats. The boys seemed to love this recipe...then again they will eat just about anything. 

I thought I would leave you with a few pictures of the puppies.

XOXO

Puppy Update

Brody at three months old.

It's really crazy how fast time flies by! I cannot believe how long Brody has been in my life and the large impact he has had on me for being so small. 

We've had this little fluff ball for almost three months now, and we are finally in a routine.  He adjusted pretty quickly to my daily routine, but house training him took a little longer to catch on.  By early November, he was pretty much accident free! He now even makes it through the night without being in his kennel. However, there were some days when I thought he would never be able to go a day without having an accident inside. 

He loves to cuddle in bed. 

As far as training goes.. He now is able to sit, lay down, and give paw on command (most of the time). He is working on not jumping on people and sitting while waiting for food. He is partially bell trained to go outside, but this is still a bit of a work in progress. 

The day Brody came home with us!

Brody is a little over five months old, and his personality is definitely shining through. He is funny, smart, playful, and loves to cuddle. I actually think he thinks he is still the fifteen pound puppy he was when we brought him home. At thirty plus pounds, he still tries to sit on my lap and cuddle up like he is still small.  He now weighs over double what he did when we got him! This means that he eats more, goes to the bathroom more, and has even more energy than ever before. 

He has gotten so much better about walking on the leash. Early on, he would try to chew the leash or just run in circles around me while we were walking.  Now he walks to my left at a brisk pace and only stops to smell the yards where dogs live in our neighborhood.  He is just beginning to jog with me, which will make my runs around the neighborhood more fun. 

When Brody was four months old, my parents brought home their own Mini Goldendoodle puppy, Graham.  Initially, the two of them had a rough start. They struggled over who was more dominant.  One month later it's a whole different story. The two of them are inseparable. When one leaves to go for a car ride or a walk around the block, the other one whimpers and stares outside the whole time.  They love to wrestle around the house, play tug of war, and lay by the fire together.  Have two puppies at once has definitely been a challenge for my family, but it has also brought us lots of happiness as well as  love. 

Brody and Graham taking a puppy nap. 

I've always grown up having dogs. When I was ten years old my parents helped me buy a Yorkie for my birthday. I did almost all of the research on different breeds and breeders. I found an ad for puppies in a newspaper, which lead to us bringing home Riley.  I always called him "my dog", but in reality he was our family pet.  This time around things are different. Brody is actually MY (and Todd's) puppy.  Having him has already taught me how to be responsible for something other than myself.  Puppies are a lot of work, it's not always cuddles and smiles. My parents are very helpful and watch Brody when I am out.. they love having a grand puppy they can spoil. Sharing him with Todd also makes things much easier too.  

Twinning in their Christmas sweaters.

I'm excited to see what the next few months have in store as Brody grows even bigger.  He has the potential double the size he is now! Some of our next adventures will include going to the groomer, getting fixed, and going to my brother's college lacrosse games. 

Our second family photo together.

Remember to follow Brody's adventures on his Instagram!

XOXO

Brody the Goldendoodle

A month ago Todd and I decided to celebrate our anniversary buy purchasing a puppy. It was a decision we had been talking about for quite some time.. more like me convincing him to agree to get a puppy. I had been doing research for almost a year and had narrowed the breed down to a goldendoodle. After my Yorkshire terrior passed away in early September, I was incredibly lonely and my want for another dog only increased. One weekend in early October we went to a breeder near us to "look" at ten week old puppies. Needless to say looking at puppies turned into purchasing one that day. We just couldn't say no after seeing how cute they were.  

Brody lives with me at my house, which my parents are absolutely loving.  The first few nights we were waking up several times a night to go out, but after that he started sleeping through the entire night.  

Rushing outside to make sure there are no accidents isn't too fun, and training him is a little tricky since I'm not an expert on training puppies.  However, I have been loving everything else about having him. He loves to cuddle, give kisses, and play with his toys. Having a puppy around has just made me so happy. It's great to come home and have someone so happy to see you. 

Be sure to follow along Brody's adventures here!

XOXO