A new addition the family...

Meet Stella! She is our very own little Goldendoodle. We chose her specifically from the litter because she seemed the most docile & mellow. We figured we didn't need to add to the crazy at our house.

She was very laid back...for about 1 day. And after that I started to panic a little and worry that maybe she was aggressive and nuts. She was bitey with my kids & would viciously knock-down little Eden who was just learning to walk. I would alternate between feeling hopeful that we could work through it all & train her into being a great dog (thanks to my neighbors for the Monks of New Skete books!) and then I would feel like we just needed to get rid of her.

I'm happy to say that we stuck it out & Stella is really a good, smart dog. She is eager to please & quick to learn. She is the star of her puppy obedience class. She gives kisses and only nips occasionally...and never in a mean way. She is almost done with crate training (house breaking). She LOVES water...drinking it, swimming in it, laying in it. Definitely a water dog. Nate thinks she would be great at duck diving. (A kind of competitive agility where dogs that jump off docks after ducks.) She will do anything for treats and now responds well to correction. We plan to continue the training classes since she seems to enjoy them. We still have a ways to go, but I can feel our family, myself in particular, recovering from the shock of a new puppy. Yay!