One Year With Phoebe

Hello, friends! 

Yesterday marked one year since we brought Phoebe home and officially became a dog family. She was actually born in June but she stayed with her mom a few months before we could actually pick her up. 

Friends, it has been quite a year and I'd say that Phoebe is very much a part of the family. She has her own personality and honestly, even though I've never considered myself a "dog person," I'm very glad that she's a part of our family. Here are a few observations about Phoebe and about her being a part of our family for the past year: 

- Phoebe is a smart dog. Apparently goldendoodles are a smart breed of dog. Phoebe follows that tradition. She's picked up on the little training that we've done pretty quickly. She was housebroken pretty quickly too, which was a huge blessing. She just learned how to play fetch, which is great too! Of course, there are still some areas for learning but that's true for any of us, right? 

- Phoebe is a creature of habit. She's found some things that work for her. She has her spot on the floor where she likes to lie. She knows when it's dinner time. No matter how many times we tell her that there's no reason to bark, she goes apoplectic when someone opens the front door. She has her favorite toys and the toys she won't even bother with. We've been learning her likes and dislikes so we can all get along. 

- Phoebe is ridiculous. There are some quirks that I'm not sure I'll ever totally understand. When Phoebe sits, she sits on the side of her hind legs instead of on her bottom. Apparently, that's a goldendoodle thing but it looks silly. Phoebe loves holding hands. Phoebe doesn't eat socks anymore but she does steal them and lays on her rug with them, daring us to get them back. 

One of the pleasant surprises is how helpful the kids have been with her. I was worried that the kids would be all about playtime but not actually want to care for her. We're still working on them picking up poop but at the very least, they haven't forgotten about Phoebe. 

So, we're one year in! Goldendoodles are supposed to live between 10-15 years, so the plan is for Phoebe to be with us until all the kids are through high school (for context, Russian tortoises live 50-60 years, meaning that Gus will be around longer than I will...). Here's to many more years of holding hands, playing fetch, finding socks where they shouldn't be, and in general, that dog dad life. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam

=