Is Your Doodle a Little Bit… You? 😂

I spent a lot of years talking about puppy temperament.

“Which one is the calmest?”

That was always a popular question.

Funny how nobody ever asked which puppy was going to be the wildest. 😂

But here's what I find much more interesting now.

I got to watch a lot of those puppies grow up. And somewhere along the way, they stopped being the puppy I knew.

They became their family's dog.

You know what I mean.

There's the doodle who's up for absolutely anything. The one who would prefer everyone just stay home. The one who has to be involved in EVERYTHING.

And then there’s the one who seems personally offended when the normal routine changes.

Or the one who knows exactly which person in the house is most likely to give in.

After enough years of PUPdates, pictures, and stories, I'd find myself thinking:

Well…that dog landed exactly where they belonged.

Not because I think your doodle magically became you. But because a puppy spends a relatively short time with the breeder, then years with you.

Your house, your routines, your vacations, your kids, your habits. Your version of normal.

Of course the dog I knew at eight weeks isn't the whole story.

Maybe I notice it more now.

My boys grew up surrounded by dogs, and now they're grown. I'm officially an empty nester, which still feels a little strange to say.

Every once in a while, one of the dogs will do something that reminds me of one of my boys. A look, a little habit, something completely ridiculous.

And I can't help but smile.

Maybe I notice those things more now because the boys aren't around every day. But it has made me think about all those years I spent watching puppies grow up.

Puppies came with their own personalities. Of course they did. But then they went home and lived whole lives with their people.

And somewhere along the way, they became completely, unmistakably their dog.

So the next time your doodle does something and you think, “Oh my gosh. That is SO me.”

Maybe you're not imagining all of it.

We spend so much time wondering who our puppies will become that we forget something:

We're going to become part of who they are, too. 🐾

And if one of mine grew up to be a little bit like you?

You KNOW I want to hear about it. 😂

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