Duncan Doodle

Meet the newest Barczak.... Duncan Doodle! 

Yes... we are extremely insane.  I'll open up with that one right away. 

But first... let me start at the beginning.   A couple weeks ago we finally decided enough was enough with Zoey.  For the past year she's basically been living in our mud room and since last fall she's been in a kennel because she started peeing and pooping all over the mud room.  We tried to bring her into the house and let her be part of the family like Ramsey but every single time she'd pee and poop somewhere.  She's 6 years old and we haven't had that behavior since she was a little puppy.  Those things were kind of the straw on the camels back... the main reason she has been in "isolation" is because we can't trust her around the boys.  She has always had a possessive personality and it wasn't an issue before we had kids because she viewed us as "alpha" and knew not to mess with us.  As much as we tried, she still viewed the boys as lower than her and would growl at them if there was food anywhere near her... it could be as simple as an empty pizza box or a plate with smudges of food on it sitting on the coffee table.  I just couldn't trust her with the boys and while we never left her alone with them who is to say there wouldn't be a situation I had to run out of the room and something happened.  I'd never forgive myself.  Or her.  We tried to find her a home... we thought the neighbors would take her but then she dug up their backyard.  Oh... and don't forget the incident last fall with the turkeys... after that happened there was no keeping her in the yard like Ramsey.  She'd take off the second you turned her loose. 

We finally decided to take her to the Humane Society to have her placed into a home with adults only or a family with older children (who can exert some dominance over her).  I feel terrible and have felt so guilty that we "gave up" on her... but I just felt like she deserved the chance to get a new home where she would fit in and wouldn't be a danger to any children.   She wasn't living a quality life in our mudroom. 

With that said... we love having 2 dogs and it bummed us out that Zoey didn't turn out to be a great family dog like Ramsey.   We've always talked about getting a Golden Retriever when one of the girls passed away (Ramsey is getting up there in age).  After we placed Zoey we discussed getting a puppy this summer... it was the perfect time because we weren't planning on having any human babies anytime soon so by the time a new Barczak Baby joined our family the "puppy" would be a dog by then.

I started researching breeds and wanted to spend some time making a perfect choice for a dog that would fit in well with our family.  Kid-friendly was at the top of our list, obviously.  I finally stumbled upon Goldendoodles and fell in love.  A co-worker has a Doodle and he's a therapy dog and comes into the classroom once a week.  He's amazingly well behaved and calm and relaxed and he's only 4 years old. 

I started calling breeders to see if anyone would have litters around May/June... I wanted to get on a waiting list and also find a breeder that wasn't charging an arm and a leg (would you believe that about 70% of serious Golden Retriever breeders charge $1200-$2000!?!  And Goldendoodles were going around $800-$1400!!!).  I found a few breeders that charged around $400 for the puppies and decided to keep them on my list.  

Then I stumbled upon two little boy Goldendoodles who were 14 weeks old.  The rest of the littermates were long since adopted and the breeder just wanted to get them into a home and had drastically dropped the price on them.

I went down to see them tonight with the boys and brought home this handsome little devil.... ok... he's not little.  He's weighing 38 lbs at a mere 14 weeks old! I did a puppy/adult weight estimator and it estimates he could be 80-90lbs as an adult.  I'm thinking he'll be more like his parents... they were both around 60lbs.  But who knows. 

Anyhow, he's EXTREMELY calm for a puppy.  He has not jumped once... he has not nipped or chewed or anything like normal puppies do.  He is soooo sweet.  I have a feeling he is the perfect piece to our puzzle.  :)