Australian Labradoodles as Gifts This Holiday Season?

It’s that time of year. Cute images are hitting us hard: precious Australian Labradoodle puppies with big bows, and overjoyed children playing with their new best friend on Christmas morning. With the holidays approaching, master marketing forces beyond our control are getting under our skin like a hungry tick. We know we’re being manipulated, but why not bring a new dog home for the holidays?

Should you surprise your family?

An Australian Labradoodle puppy or dog can be a welcome addition for those well prepared for the new arrival, but know your recipient. Older children and spouses may be able to help with care and training, but will they? A recently widowed or divorced parent may seem like they need company, but just because they shared life with a Lab as a newlywed doesn’t mean they want to take on that responsibility in their golden years. Your four-legged gift may be seen as just another burden or chore, especially when the puppy chews the fringe on the Oriental rug. Examine your motives: Are you getting a puppy for your own enjoyment, or for the recipient’s?

Here’s one way to surprise someone and have that feel-good moment that’s so much a part of holiday gift-giving. Buy a crate and fill it with toys, chew bones and a food and water bowl. Include a gift certificate or brochure from a local shelter. Download photos and breed info from our site. Do a little homework on local boarding facilities, veterinarians and groomers, and ask your friends for referrals. Having these resources at hand will help the recipient feel like there is a support system, instead of being tossed in the water with no life vest. If you are really carried away by the holiday spirit, offer to care for the dog when the new owner is traveling.

Another option is to forego the surprise in favor of involving the gift recipient early on in the process. Children, especially, are surprisingly opinionated and educated on the subject, thanks to the proliferation of television programming devoted to all things dog. Older folks will praise your forethought, and may appreciate having some control over this new development in their lives.

You can elect to wait until after the holidays to approach the gift recipient, when the pressures of holiday gift-giving have subsided. An Australian Labradoodle puppy is, of course, a living, breathing, needy being who is not returnable with proper labeling and a receipt. A dog as a gift heaps responsibility on the giver as well as the recipient. Be prepared to graciously accept “No, thank you” and offer a donation to a favorite animal charity as an alternative.

If you are the gift recipient, well, shock and awe may best describe your initial reaction. Well-meaning friends or relatives bestow a furry bundle on you, and even though you really weren’t looking, he sure is a sweet little pup. Your gift-givers depart and “Good luck!” rings in your ears. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but your new arrival is overwhelmed, too, and looking for guidance. Start right away to shape the behavior you’d like to see as you both move forward. Establish a realistic housetraining schedule and write it all down. Redirect play-biting by offering toys and chews. Encourage retrieving by bouncing a ball against a wall and praising the pup for picking it up in his mouth. Read books, watch videos and enroll in basic training class. Although the new arrival represents limits on your personal freedom, there are no limits to the emotional rewards. After all, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Noble Vestal Labradoodles will not place a puppy that is intended to be a surprise on the recipient and where the recipient will be the primary care giver of the puppy. We feel it is important to have all members of the family supporting the addition of the new family member. Please plan in advance and contact us today if you think you want a puppy for the holiday season.

Growing Up Noble

Growing Up Noble
The art of raising your puppy started with selecting the best breeding dogs. All of our breeding dogs are specially trained Therapy Dogs. Because the Australian Labradoodle was originally bred to be a Service Dog we feel it is important that the dogs we bred be able to demonstrate the qualities and temperament of a Service or Therapy Dog. Many breeders of bird dogs will tell you a dog is not worth breeding if it does not meet the purpose for which it was designed and we agree. Our dogs are
born and raised in our home as part of the family, not in kennels, basement or any area separate of the family.

The education of a Noble Vestal Labradoodle puppy starts when the puppies are 3 days old and extends until they go home to you. The most crucial time in a dog’s life is the first 12 weeks, when experiences are new and exert a maximal effect on the dog’s future personality. We therefore spend a lot of time and effort educating the pups during this time. Starting when the puppies are 3 days old, each Noble Vestal Labradoodle puppy receives more than 35 hours of one—to—one education
before she goes to her new home.

A young Noble Vestal Labradoodle’s education includes a series of mild challenges, exercises and a thorough socialization program designed to enhance a pup’s daptability; develop her confidence and intelligence; and encourage her to communicate with people. For example, when a pup is three days old, we take her out of her pen and place her on a different floor surface at a different temperature for about one minute. The next day we take her out of the pen and place her Mother about six to 12 inches away from her. She finds her Mother and is rewarded. The following day, we increase the distance or add a very easy-to-overcome barrier between her and Mom. Each day, the difficulty of the barriers increases; each day she is compelled to think and is rewarded for her
thinking.

The pups are well socialized. From the day they are born, they are part of the family and interact with family members. Socialization with new people begins when the puppies’ eyes and ears are fully open. At first, we introduce just one new person at a time to the pups. We want the pups to enjoy meeting new people. As the puppies get older, we introduce them to children, men with beards, cats, vacuum cleaners, nursing homes, and human hands in their food bowls. Many dog bites occur when children bother a dog while she’s eating. Proper early education of the puppies prevents this.

We continually expose the puppies to new things. We want them, when they grow up, to handle new things without stress and anxiety. We also want our dogs to communicate quietly with us. For example, one of our foundation dogs uses many varied types of yawns to express himself. Some of his progeny also yawn like him. We work with the pups, from their first week, to reward yawns. When they yawn at us, they get our attention. When they bark, we ignore them.

The Educated Noble Vestal Labradoodle
Many people would love to have a well-mannered, well-behaved dog, but do not have the time, energy, or expertise to raise and educate a puppy. We take the time and effort (and sometimes the destroyed rugs) out of educating puppies. Hundreds of hours go into educating a Noble Vestal Labradoodle, who will quickly become an important family member and give and receive love for many years. Educated Noble Vestal Labradoodles go to their new families when they are seven to nine months old. We sell one educated puppy every two years. Booking for older trained puppies needs to be done well in advance. We have openings for 2010! Book your Educated Noble Vestal Labradoodle today.

Noble Vestal Labradoodles are raised as family members and, in their new homes, expect to be treated as important family members. They need lots of love, attention and daily exercise. Dogs, especially puppies, need to run.

How To Prepare For an Australian Labradoodle Puppy

1. Pour cold apple juice on the carpet in several places and walk around barefoot in the dark.
2. Wear a sock to work that has had the toes shredded by a blender.
3. Immediately upon walking, stand outside in the rain and dark saying, “be a good puppy and go potty- hurry up now- come on, let’s go!
4. Play catch with a wet tennis ball.
5. Run out in the snow in your bare feet to close the gate.
6. Tip over a basket of clean laundry, scatter clothing all over the floor.
7. Leave your underwear on the living room floor, because that is where the dog will drag it anyway, especially when you have company.
8. Jump out of your chair shortly before the end of your favorite TV show and run to the door shouting, ” NO NO! Do that OUTSIDE!” Miss the end of the program.
9. Gouge the leg of the dining room table several times with a screwdriver.
10. Put Chocolate pudding on the carpet in the morning and do not try to clean it up until you return from work that evening.
11. Take a warm, cuddly blanket out of the dryer and immediately wrap it around yourself. This is the feeling you get when your Australian Labradoodle puppy falls asleep on your lap.

General Schedule – Owners Home All Day

3-6 Month-old Puppy Eating 2 Meals a Day
7:00AM Wake up. Go out.
7:10 Free period in kitchen.
7:30 Food and water.
8:00 Go out.
8:15 Free period in kitchen.
8:45 Confine: Tether to you
10:30 Walk
12:30PM Walk
12:45 Free period in kitchen.
1:15 Confine: Tether to you.
3:00 Walk.
5:00 Food and water.
5:30 Go out.
6:15 Confine: Tether to you.
8:00 Water.
8:15 Go Out.
8:30 Free period in the kitchen.
9:00 Confine: Tether to you.
11:00 Go out. Confine overnight

6-12 Mont-old Puppy Eating 2 Meals a Day
7:00AM Wake up. Go out.
7:15 Free period in kitchen.
8:00 Food and water.
8:30 Go out.
8:45 Free period in kitchen.
9:30 Confine. Supervise.
12:30PM Water.
12:45 Go out.
1:00 Free period in kitchen.
1:45 Confine. Supervise.
3:30 Walk.
6:00 Food and water.
6:30 Go out.
6:45 Free period in kitchen.
7:30 Confine. Supervise.
11:00 Go out. Confine overnight.

Housebroken Adult Dogs Eating 1 Meal a Day

7:00AM Wake up. Go out.
8:00 Food.
12:30PM Go out.
5:30PM Food and water.
6:00 Go out.
11:00 Go out. Bedtime. Romove water at night.

Stuff the Turkey Not Your Australian Labradoodle This Holiday Season

We all know how hard it can be to resist those begging eyes and that furry face you can deny nothing on any given day, and on Thanksgiving – with the fragrant smell of that really rich dinner swimming throughout the house – the temptation can be that much worse. But this year, do your Australian Labradoodle a favor and keep her away from the items listed below. Pookie Dearest might be miffed for the evening, but her stomach will thank you the next day.

1. Turkey Skin – On its own, turkey skin can be fatty and hard to digest, but on Thanksgiving it’s particularly bad (just think of the butter, oils and spices rubbed into it). If you must share the turkey with your Australian Labradoodle, do peel the skin off and cut the meat up into bite-sized pieces. And consider choosing the white meat over the dark for your pooch – it’s a little blander and easier to digest.

2. Cooked Bones – Whether your bird is duck, goose or turkey, do not give the bones to your Australian Labradoodle. Any dog cartoon features Fido carrying a bone around in his mouth, but the reality is that a cooked bone is often brittle and sharp pieces can get lodged in your pet’s intestine. And bird bones are hollow and break easily.

3. Gravy/Buttery Side Dishes – This one goes hand-in-hand with the turkey skin. Fatty foods and trimmings can cause pancreatitis in dogs at worst and diarrhea or vomiting at “best.” ThePoop.com suggests substituting gravy with a little turkey broth if you really want to give your Australian Labradoodle a treat.

4. Aluminum Foil and Plastic Wrap – Dispose of these when you’re done with them. There are two risks here: one, your Australian Labradoodle will be licking the fatty substances off the wrappings, and two, swallowing these can cause an intestinal obstruction.

5. Chocolate – Not that we think that you would intentionally feed your Australian Labradoodle chocolate (which we all know can be toxic to our canine friends), but since candy is often left out on tables for guests during the holidays, it made the list. Be sure to keep bowls filled with chocolate out of reach.

6. The Garbage Pail – A frustrated Australian Labradoodle who can’t get a scrap out of his usually-generous parents may be tempted to dig around the trash bin and find a good number of the items listed above.

7. The Kitchen – Thanksgiving can be the busiest day of the year for the kitchen, and you’ll want to keep your pup out of there. With hot dishes being whisked from one counter to the next, there’s a chance a dog that’s under foot could be burned or cut if something were to shatter.

8. Holiday Plants – Sure it’s Thanksgiving, but a good number of people have already decked the halls with holly by this time. Know that Poinsettias, holly berries, mistletoe and Cedar Christmas trees are toxic to dogs including Australian Labradoodles.

9. Decorations – Glass ornaments and candles are just begging for trouble. Like the chocolate, keep these out of reach.

10. Guests Who Mean Well – Educate your less pet-savvy visitors (and hey, maybe even send them this list). A child may accidentally feed a dog some chocolate and your great aunt might think she’s being nice by sharing her turkey skin.

Training your Australian Labradoodle to STOP barking

Barking is one of the most common complaints of dog owners or their neighbors. Although barking is a normal behavior for dogs, when it is excessive or uncontrolled it becomes unacceptable to the owners or neighbors. The consequences of the dog’s barking (the response that the dog gets) may then aggravate the problem. For example, if barking is an attempt to get a person or animal to retreat and the person retreats, then the barking was successful and the behavior has been reinforced. If barking is response to new sights or sounds, or is intended as a greeting behavior, then the Australian Labradoodle will become more anxious if it is not allowed to greet or if it leads to anxiety, yelling or punishment by the owners. Barking may also be associated with fear and/or anxiety, or as a form of aggression.

You can reduce barking in your Australian Labradoodle puppy by socializing them to as many new people, dogs, places, sights, sounds and odors as possible. If there are no negative consequences and the puppy is not rewarded for barking, it should get used to these stimuli. For puppies that need more enrichment or companionship, a second dog may help reduce anxiety induced barking.

Before trying to stop your dog barking, you need to understand several things:

1. The principle is to ignore barking and reward what you do want (quiet). A favored dog treat or clicker saved for quiet training can be most effective.
2. Do not reward any barking behavior by giving attention or by allowing the barking to be successful e.g. allowing indoors .
3. Do not punish barking as this can increase anxiety or may inadvertently serve as attention. Focus on teaching your dog that when it is quiet it will be rewarded.
4. To reduce departure anxiety, establish a predictable routine that provides sufficient enrichment but also provides times when your dog learns to spend time alone.
5. Dogs that bark to get attention should receive no attention until they are quiet or calm (by waiting and ignoring, training quiet or by using a head collar).
6. Consider changing your dog’s environment if this is the cause of barking. For example, dogs that bark in the yard or at people passing by should be left inside the house or in a place where they cannot see people through the fence.

When you achieve good control over your Australian Labradoodle you can start managing the problem:

1. Teach your dog the quiet command. Your dog can be taught to quiet by teaching the bark command then reinforcing quiet. You can effectively stop barking by using a food or dog toy lure or a head collar and then reinforcing quiet behavior. A quiet command should be paired with each session where the dog can be successfully taught to quiet. Most dogs will also quiet with a settle command such as sit/watch or down-stay .
2. Training should be done in areas where there are no distractions. Gradually shape the behavior so that your dog stays quiet for longer periods of time.
3. Other devices that may help stop barking and achieve quiet include devices that are activated by owners (shake can, ultrasonic trainer, noise devices) and those activated by the barking itself (e.g. automatic spray bark collars). While these products may work as a deterrent in the short term, they are most successful if the owner is present to train and reinforce the dog each time it is quiet. During training, it is important not to leave your dog alone in situations where it might bark.
4. Identify the stimuli that initiate anxiety induced barking and gradually desensitize your dog .

How to Feed Your Australian Labradoodle so That Your Kids Will Eat Too

You want to give your Australian Labradoodle the best. You want to give your child the best, too. No one advocates feeding your child dog food. But how about giving both of them … salmon steak?

Sharing food with your dog seems radical, but it’s merely a return to the way dogs were fed for millennia. The human-animal bond developed partly because dogs and humans could eat the same foods, and the act of sharing reinforced this intimate connection.
Shared food isn’t novel compared with “dog food,” which was invented only 150 years ago when Spratt’s Patent Meat Fibrine Dog Cake hit the market. With this biscuit, dog food distinct from human food was created. After World War I, canned horsemeat joined biscuits as dog food, and after World War II, better living through chemistry brought on the golden age of processing: kibble for dogs, TV dinners and Tang for kids.

Nowadays, few of us would feed our kids a 1950s classic like baked ham slice slathered in mustard and garnished with maraschino cherries, a triumph of color over taste. Nor would we feed our dogs a mid-century meal of Gaines-Burgers, a triumph of marketing over nutrition. Instead, we are rediscovering the benefits of unprocessed, home-prepped, whole foods for our kids and dogs.

Michael Pollan’s best-selling In Defense of Food warns us not to eat anything our great-grandmothers wouldn’t recognize as food. A complementary principle applies: Don’t feed your dog anything your great-grandmother’s dog wouldn’t recognize as food. What they would both recognize is the same: simply food, not a “Food, Inc.” assemblage of processed factory ingredients.

The best food for dogs and kids is organic, whether meat, produce or whole grains. Too expensive? You can still prepare healthy, sharable meals. Look for sales in your market’s meat section. Chicken and beef can be cheaper per pound than kibble, canned food or packaged treats, and their nutritional value far exceeds that of dog food, whose first ingredients often include by-products and nutrient-poor, agricultural-grade grains. Dog food gives you less for more; shared food gives you more for less. Read unit prices!

Shared food is as fast as “fast food,” as convenient as “convenience food.” Give your kid and your Australian Labradoodle carrots instead of potato chips and dog biscuits. Think freshness and simplicity, not complexity and trendiness. A dietary dividend: Kids are more likely to try new foods if the dog’s enjoying them.

Enrich your perspective on shared food with the TREATS system. Named for what dogs and kids both enjoy, TREATS stands for:

Taste over Image
Read Labels
Eat Local, Fresh, Organic
Always Flavor It Yourself
Tooth or Dare
Sporting Life

Taste over Image: Don’t buy the succulent-looking chicken plumped with saltwater, pumped with antibiotics and fed pesticide-laced corn. Buy organic or at least “natural” chicken. It tastes better and needs no artificial enhancement.

Read Labels: The packaging depicts a cornucopia of ripe fruits and vegetables, but what’s really inside? Only the manufacturer knows for sure, but you can learn a lot by reading labels. Note the number and incomprehensibility of ingredients in processed food. A whole food has one ingredient: a banana contains banana.

Eat Organic, Seasonal, Local: Patronize a farmers’ market or farm stand. Be brave—if the First Lady can commandeer a plot of White House lawn, you can grow a victory garden. At least set up a window box and grow herbs to …

Always Flavor It Yourself: Don’t buy foods with salt or sugar added. Let your child and Australian Labrdoodle discover the real taste of food. Experiment with spices like cinnamon, ginger and anise.

Tooth or Dare: Fight dental decay and gum disease; don’t buy kid- and dog-targeted commercial foods. Children’s cereals “might as well be cookies,” says Marion Nestle in What to Eat. Give your kid and dog an apple to share. Dog food doesn’t promote dental health, and it often contains sugar (as does canine toothpaste!). In the wild, canids’ teeth stay clean through a diet consisting primarily of meat and bones. (With their wolf-like dentition, dogs are classified taxonomically as carnivores, which does not preclude opportunistically eating vegetation, including digestible vegetables.)

Sporting Life: Encourage your kid and Australian Labradoodle to play together. Childhood and canine obesity are major health problems. An active lifestyle is as important as a healthful diet with portion control.

Here’s the real treat: When your kid and dog enjoy a shared meal, they’re celebrating the human-animal bond all over again. Bone appetit!

Who’s In Charge? You Are

And here’s how to let your Australian Labradoodle know it.

Whe you come home, does your dog jump all over you? Deoes he- not you- lead the way when you go for a walk together? Does he bark to make you feed him? Does he nudge you out of a deep sleep to take him out for his first walk of the day?

If you answered yes to all or most of these questions, I have one more for you: Who do you think is in charge in your house?

There was a time when we thought that dogs- indeed, all animals- existed only to do our bidding. We were wrong, of course, but now the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. Many of us feel uncomfortable asserting any authority whatsoever over our dogs. And if we let that feeling guide us, we’re opening the door to trouble- in the form of an unfulfilled, annoying, and, perhaps, even aggressive, dog.

Australian Labradoodles, like all social animals, need structure in their lives. Democracy isn’t their thing at all; what they require in order to feel a sense of direction and stability is a figure I’ve always described as a pack leader. That doesn’t mean one who’s “putting the dog in his place,” or oppressing him in some way. When I talk about a pack leader, I’m simply talking about an authority figure that the dog understand has established the basic rules he, the dog, needs to live by.

In an Australian Labradoodle’s world, you can either be a leader or a follower. There is no third choice. And your Australian Labradoodle won’t take it as a horrible insult if you assert yourself as a leader. In fact, he’ll probably be quite relieved that you are in charge. After all, he’s trying to find his way around in the world- of highways, buildings, elevators, sidewalks, cars- that is nothing like the natural world he is hard-wired to survive in. It is your world, in other words, and you know your way around. He will feel safe in the knowledge that his leader is taking responsibility for him.

So how do you get that point across?

Take Charge
It all starts with energy. Energy is the way animals communicate, since they can not use words. The energy another dog projects, for instance, allows your Australian Labradoodle to determine whether a potential confrontation is afoot, and if so, whether he should fight, run away, or submit.

So obviously it is even more important that the energy you communicate be the right kind. You should never come across as aggressive, agitated or angry- just quietly in control. The goal here is simply to emanate a calm-assertive energy, which in turn sends your dog the clear signal that you are the leader.

It is helpful to remember that unlike people, dogs do not dwell on the past or obsess about the future, Instead, they live solely in the moment at hand and respond directly to their immediate environment. If you project panic, nervousness, or tension, your dog will pick right up on it and follow your example.

Of course, mastering that “calm-assertive” frame of mind is the real trick, and it is not easy. It does not have to do with the dog- it has to do with you and how you come across. I often recommend that people use the techniques that actors use to prepare for a role. Imagine yourself as someone or some movie character who you see as epitomizing leadership. And think how it would feel to be that person, to project that same level of cool-headed, unruffled authority. Read a book on Method acting techniques, or write down positive affirmations or quotes about leadership and post them near where you keep the leash. What else? Prayer, yoga, meditation, tai-chi, and martial arts training will also help you access that centered, in-the-moment part of yourself- the part that your dog will recognize and respond to.

If you are still not sure what I mean by calm assertive energy, take a look at Coach Dungy (former Colts coach) in action. He never loses his temper, but always stands his ground. And as easy as it is to recognize calm-assertive energy in people, it is no harder to recognize the calm-submissive energy it will generate in your dog: His ears will be held back, his posture will be relaxed, and he will display an almost instinctual willingness to go along with his pack leader’s wishes.

Walk The Walk
Because walking is the primal canine activity, taking your Australian Labradoodle or Labradoodles on regular walks is the single best way to put your pack leading skills to work. Your Australian Labradoodle’s wolf ancestors migrated with a pack- and that is what he wants to do, too. Do not just take him out for a quick pee; give him a good, long walk that will tire him out. A dog backpack- comprising 10 to 20 percent of the dog’s weight- will help achieve that goal. Once his physical energy is depleted, he will be more ready to do what you want him to. Allowing him to wander aimlessly in a big backyard is no substitute for brisk walk with you. On your walk together, he can explore his world- and learn quickly that you are his pack leader.

You are the leader, your Australian Labradoodle is the follower. Walk briskly with your dog either behind you or at your side. If he is ahead of you- and especially if he is pulling on the leash- then it is likely you are not the leader of this pack.

Danger can rear its head on a walk when your dog runs into another dog, and they decide to mix it up. In my experience that almost always happens when both dogs are out in front of their owners. The equation is simple: Two dominant dogs= one nasty street fight. If your dog is in the proper calm-submissive state, he will not look to challenge every other dog he runs into. And if both dogs are properly calm-submissive, you can actually stop and chat with the other dog’s owner, if you are so inclined which is a lot more fun than trying to break up a sidewalk dogfight.

It all comes down to discipline, really- and your feeling about it. People say, “Oh, my baby is only two months old! How can I make rules for him?

Well, his mother started making rules the moment he was born. And she was not being cruel; it is just that she was the first pack leader in your Australian Labradoodle’s life. When he was old enough, she took him on walks, and she set boundaries for him. And- and this is an example you should follow. as a pack leader- she made him wait for his food rather than feeding him on his schedule. In nature, that is what all animals have to do. Food does not show up at regularly scheduled times; it must be hunted for. Dogs no longer have to hunt for dinner, but it is important that they work for it. That is why it is a good idea to take your Australian Labradoodle on that nice long walk before he eats. That way, when it is time to dine, he has earned it.

Remember, in nature, dogs correct each other all the time- especially pack leaders. But they do not do it out of anger or frustration, and neither should you.

Hug It Out
If you have read books or watched dog trainers on TV you will notice it is only after exercise and discipline that they begin to discuss affection. It is the thing you give after you have exercised your dog and done your daily part to establish boundaries and rules. In nature, animals are seldom rewarded, if at all. Pack leaders do not turn around and say, “Thanks for following me, guys!” And, the dogs that work with the blind or other handicapped people do not get rewarded every 10 minutes, either; they are rewarded after- and only after- they finish a task.

Exercise and discipline are both for the good of your Australian Labradoodle; they fulfill him in his role as a member of the pack, This is the stuff he is hard wired for, and it is the stuff that makes him happiest. Affection, however, is something we do for ourselves- it however, is something we do for ourselves- it fulfills us. Dogs express affection to each other as well but ironically, if we put our own fulfillment first, and allow affection to take precedence over discipline, we run the risk of being seen by our dogs as followers, rather than leaders.

Remember, your Australian Labradoodle is an animal, not a human. And he is a pack animal, so he needs a leader to be fulfilled and happy. If you do not provide that leadership, you are back answering yes to all those questions we asked at the beginning.

Your Australian Labradoodle and H1N1

Swine flu, also known as H1N1 influenza, has been dominating the news recently. The viral strain appears set to cause the first influenza pandemic in a generation. Influenza pandemics are big deals. The pandemic of 1918-1920 caused more people to die from flu than from bullets or bombs during World War One.

Influenza viruses are known for infecting multiple species–as the name would imply, swine flu developed in pigs and then spread to people.

This may lead pet owners to wonder: can my Australian Labradoodle catch swine flu?

The answer appears to be no. DVM Newsmagazine reports that there is no evidence that dogs can contract, carry, spread, or suffer illness from H1N1 influenza.

H1N1 influenza has been isolated from a ferret. Fortunately at this time there is no evidence that ferrets can spread the disease to people.

Although it appears we can rest easy about our Australian Labradoodles catching swine flu, remember that cats are susceptible to an even scarier form of influenza: bird flu (also known as H5N1). Cats contract bird flu by preying upon or being fed raw bird meat. The virus does not appear capable of spreading from cat to cat. That is a good thing, since the fatality rate among cats infected with H5N1 appears to be 100%.

Social Networking for Australian Labradoodles

Proper and regular socialization is an important aspect of life for any pup. My dog, Atta Girl, is no different. She’s an Australian Labradoodle, and an energetic, loving and sociable one at that. She’s a lover and a licker, and put simply, she needs to get out and see other dogs and people. Being self-employed and working from home, I can certainly sympathize with her desire to leave the house and mingle with the outside world. If we didn’t, who would blame Atta Girl—or me—for coming down with bad cases of cabin fever and a house full of chewed up toilet paper rolls?

For both of us, avoiding that ailment has usually meant a trip to Pierson Bark Park, a 4 acre grass covered haven with a beautiful fountain aerated pond and walking paths. A fenced-in park, most of it is dirt and rocks. There’s plenty of water for the dogs to swim and to chase tennis balls and sticks.

I have to admit that to the casual observer, it doesn’t look like much. But to Atta Girl, Sweetie and Cutie, it’s solid gold. It’s one of the few places where they can get the kind of unrestrained dog-to-dog, muzzle-to-muzzle (or head-to-tail) interaction that they craves and needs. It’s a place where I too can get much-needed face-to-face interaction with my fellow dog lovers.

In this way, my local dog park is much like Any Dog Park, USA. Though each definitely has its own vibe, its own dog culture, they all share some fundamental commonalities. They are busiest in the mornings, during lunch, and after work. We make friends there (and only see them there—friendships compartmentalized into the dog-park corner of our lives). And our dogs have their own friends, too, familiar faces they recognize and with whom they preferentially play. For Atta Girl, there’s Thatcher, and Chloe, and Z, and a handful of others.

Atta Girl knows the phrase “dog park,” and she seems to know when we’re headed there. Her innate sense of direction tells her when we’re getting close, and she instantly perks up—standing alert in the back seat, excitedly looking out the window, waiting for the park to come into view. Then we arrive, and it’s all I can do to contain her until I’ve removed her leash and released her to run free with her canine companions.

But in this 21st-century technological world, I’ve discovered that real dog parks aren’t the only places where Atta Girl, Sweetie and Cutie can socialize. With my help, they can do it online, too. As social networking sites like Facebook, Friendster and MySpace have soared in popularity, so have canine social networking sites. There are also forums specifically geared for Labradoodles such as Doodles & Friends, The Doodle Zoo and Doodle Kisses. Take Dogster, for example. Launched in January 2004, it has rapidly grown to include more than 459,000 dogs, each with his or her own profile and network of “puppy pals,” in Dogster lingo. I wondered, though. Would Atta Girl’s membership in an online dog park really be for his benefit, or was it for my own entertainment? It seemed a stretch to expect Atta Girl to experience some sort of virtual socialization. Didn’t the benefits of this arrangement accrue to people, then, and not to dogs? To me, and not to Atta Girl?

Still, I was curious. I couldn’t resist creating a free profile for Atta Girl, complete with biographical info, personality traits, and likes and dislikes. I felt like I was building an elaborate personal ad for her, as though she’d soon begin dating a stud who’d fallen in love with her enchanting profile. I wondered how I would feel if Atta Girl became more popular than me, if she amassed more puppy pals on Dogster than I had friends on Facebook. Would I resent her for his superior social status? Would she and I compete for dominance in the Internet’s social stratum?

Once I uploaded Atta Girl’s profile, the puppy-pal requests came in surprisingly fast. One of the first was from Speckles, a Collie/Labrador Retriever mix from Canada; in an odd aside, her profile noted that she was deceased. Some of the messages were written in the dogs’ voices—cute, maybe, but not my style. Then there were Emma and Ike, a pair of Australian Labradoodles who lived in the Australia. Here, I thought, were two dogs who would instantly connect with Atta Girl. She was also had Australian heritage but resides here in Indiana. They were Labradoodles in Australia. Kindred spirits, the three of them. My idyllic perception of their relationship, however, lasted only until I noticed that Emma and Ike had more than 7,000 puppy pals, and that my … um … Atta Girl’s messages to them went unreturned. Was Atta Girl just another notch in their dog collars? Were they padding their numbers with my pup? Atta Girl (or, more accurately, I) felt so … used. I quickly realized that this world of virtual friends is a tenuous one. Atta Girl stirs with excitement each time we go to the real dog park, but often goes to sleep when I sit at my computer and log on to Dogster on his behalf.


I’ll admit that there is a certain convenience to the online dog park. For one, it doesn’t have a real pond with real mud where Atta Girl can get wet and dirty and smelly and require a bath and brush out. In that way, Dogster and sites like it are utterly convenient. There’s also a pragmatic aspect, and for me, that’s the real hook. Atta Girl is an Australian Labradoodle, a mixed breed created in Australia. It’s not often that I come across other owners at my local dog park. But online, I can find entire groups of them, places where I can go to reflect on the breed and share advice and stories. To that end, I enrolled Atta Girl in three online groups, each with as many as 50 or more members: Doodles & Friends, The Doodle Zoo and Doodle Kisses.

The benefit of Australian Labradoodle networking, though, doesn’t overshadow the fact that with the convenience of online dog parks, we also sacrifice relationships. They lose value—relationships built online and kept at an electronic distance remain superficial, and they quickly fade, along with the novelty of it all. It’s much like using Facebook to contact an old high school friend you haven’t spoken to in 10 years. You’re pleasantly cordial in the initial interchange, and exchange a brief flurry of emails, but then the communication drops off. Online dog parks, I decided, were no place for Atta Girl.

Real dog parks have their own limitations, too. A random collection of people and dogs brought together by a basic need for exercise and socialization, they’re often haphazard and arbitrary. It’s like trying to meet your soul mate at a bar—sure, it could happen, but the odds are long. But what if we could harness the targeted networking potential of the Internet to find people and dogs with interests similar to our own, and then actually get together to forge the kind of relationships that can only grow from face-to-face interaction?

Well, we can. They’re called Doodle Romps! There are more than 60 of them across the country. Each is self-organizing and locally focused. Most meet annually in April to support IDog.biz an International Doodle Owners Group that mainly focuses on rescues and education. IDog lists the majority of the Doodle Romps on their site free of charge and they are searchable by state. Here you can find the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. These romps are mainly attended by doodles and there owners so there is no pure breed snobbery to attend to or defending of your choice to get a mixed breed dog.

Had I indeed found my personal Holy Grail of online-meets-real dog parks? With the Doodle Romps, it’s still too early to tell. But I do know this: My enthusiasm for the real dog park has waned somewhat, and my enthusiasm for online dog parks faded before it even began. With Doodle Romps, on the other hand, I see real potential, and my enthusiasm remains strong. Here, I don’t have to pretend to be Atta Girl and I don’t have to hope that the real dog park will have a good mix of agreeable people and dogs on any given day. Rather, I can simply be myself and connect with people who share my perspective and interests, and with dogs who—much more so than Emma and Ike far off in Australia—will be kindred spirits with Atta Girl, satisfying her need for socialization far closer to home.


We still go to our local dog park, though less often than we used to. And Atta Girl still gets excited when we go. She gets even more excited, I think, when she sees me reach for my backpack and hiking boots. To Atta Girl, the only thing better than socializing off-leash with other dogs is doing so where she knows she can do it all day long and not get in trouble for tearing up my flowers. At the end of the day, however, I don’t think it matters much to her whether the socialization came through our local park or the arrangement of a Doodle Romp. What really matters is that there’s a real, live dog there to greet her when it happens.

Noble Vestal Labradoodles is planning 3 to 4 romps for 2010. We plan to hold each of them in good weather so that we can be comfortable outdoors, inviting vendors, dog trainers and groomers to attend. Please contact us with desired dates as we starting to plan our calendar.