[River Rat]

Our previous dogs have not liked water, which worked well because we live on a river. However, it occurs to me that doodles have waterdog genes and may be much more likely to go for a swim on a hot day - or a cold one. Do you find that there's much attraction there, and how do you handle it if water is a standard feature in your personal landscape?

Leslie

[sessa35]

How funny that you should ask that, River Rat!!!

Mija just got her first experience with water (big, deep body of water, that is, hahahaha) and let me tell you---she was a NATURAL!!! By the end of the week long trip, it was hard to keep her out of the water!! hahahahaaha!

Unfortunately, I have no advice for you....living in the desert Southwest does not allow me to chime in either, hahahaha, 'round here, we go "looking" for water that's bigger than her water dish! How wonderful and lucky for you to have a river in your "personal landscape" (I like that term, hope you don't mind if I use it? )!! I wish you all the best of luck, may training be smooth and clear (that is, if you want to keep your pup "out" of the water )

....I do,
however,
forsee a wet dog!

Cheers to doodles making waves!
_________________
REASON #125, "Why I love my doodle so": After 1,547 photos taken, my doodle is still in an inspiration to capture on film!

[blueteal]

Denver is crazy for the water and will try to
jump into anything that is 2 bowls bigger than his water dish.
Bahahahahaaaa!!! He is a water dog for sure!!!!
_________________
Sue & Denver
http://blueteal.net/denver.htm
A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
- Josh Billings

[River Rat]

Sounds like this should be very interesting, then! I forsee a roped off boat ramp, for sure....

We did have one Dane, briefly, who was attracted to water and he couldn't figure out why he kept getting hosed off - which he didn't like much. Maybe if we'd had him longer we could have worked something out, but he was a rescue Dane who became super territorial and tried to attack a friend and later, another friend's child, so back he went.

[MaxandMe]

we have a fairly large creek...that is anywhere from 16 to 20ft deep (depending on time of year and weather0 and it's 70ft wide. MAX loves going in it and dunks his head underwater looking for sticks hahahhaa Peanut has yet to go in.

Max won't go down the creek alone though he waits for us to bring him down there which is only 750ft from the house.I keep the doors to the pool closed at all times as i don't know if he'd jump in or not.
_________________
Annmarie, Max,& Peanut
Forum BLOG ARTICLE LINK http://blog.labradoodle-dogs.net/

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Anatole France

[River Rat]

Annmarie, I was hoping to hear from you, 'cuz I checked out your place from the link you have and it looked as though there'd be lots of temptations there for a watery pup. It looks gorgeous, by the way. Do you have a lot of land, and do you farm or just relax and enjoy it? Here's a link to my place that I put up for my online painter friends a couple of years ago:

http://www.leslieficcaglia.org/minnamuska.htm

You can see that as well as there being a river bordering our property we also compounded the problem by going and putting in a pond! So your input is very reassuring. I'm getting one of Maureen's little girls, and both parents seem very laid back and biddable, so hopefully this won't be much of a problem. We've always been able to train our dogs to "piddle" on command (always assuming there's raw material for the deed in the bladder, of course!) and to wipe their feet, as well as to stay on the paths in our vegetable garden rather than wandering through the tomatoes and spinach and wreaking havoc. They do give me a mildly betrayed look as they watch the cat prance among the rows, but herding cats is beyond me and the dogs seem to understand. However, that was always with Danes, and my doodle will be a whole new experience. Hearing tales about matted coats and grooming, and then the idea of this same coat being dunked in our muddy river, did make me worry a bit!

Lesle

[gracielou]

They get it from the Lab and the Poodle St Poodles were the origianl water fowl dogs bred in France. Not all like it but a lot of them do.
_________________
Linda & Gracielou
Valley Center, KS
http://www.4pawspuppies.com

[River Rat]

Hadn't realized that poodles were bred as French waterdogs, Linda. Thanks for the heads-up! I'm hoping that even if there's an attraction there we can work on it so it's manageable. Getting lots more insight into the situation, though. You guys are great!

Leslie

[Linda]

Absolutely beautiful home and property, Leslie! I LOVE the water (any water!) and your view from the studio is incredible...so peaceful!)
I always love when others get to see how BEAUTIFUL New Jersey really is! (Although I don't want too many people to know )
I'm getting inspired to go take some nature pictures myself!

[River Rat]

Thanks, Linda. We love it here but are always quick to point out that it has its downside; the gnats are bad right now and the strawberry flies are out, too. If you live further downstream where the water is more salt, there are greenhead flies which are really vicious, and lots of mosquitoes. We usually have a breeze so they're not much of a problem here, but there's definitely a reason why this part of NJ is so sparsely settled. And as you say, we enjoy it as it is.

I take lots of nature photos but then I paint from them. Here's a back link to some of my oils and pastels of the area


http://www.leslieficcaglia.org/landscapes.htm

We've lived here for almost 35 years and there's a lot you can do with a place in that time. It was pretty bare when we moved here - and we also built our house. The studio was originally the dwelling for the property, but it did have some old barns and chicken coops. Everyone we knew thought we were nuts to move down here but they don't think so anymore!

Anyway, lots of room for a doodle to roam, and we'll hope she won't roam too much into the water.

Happy photographing!

Leslie

[Linda]

oops, forgot to say that an electronic fence would work well if the water spots become an issue or if you are already concerned.

[River Rat]

Linda, we've never had to use one, but it's definitely an option if it becomes a problem. Our dogs usually stay fairly close to us when we're outside with them, and we don't leave them out by themselves. We have a lot of river frontage so electronic fencing would be a bit of a hassle but not impossible if excessive dunking becomes an issue.

Right now my husband's installing an electric fence to try to keep a very persistent raccoon away from our goslings! In an ideal world all these fences wouldn't be necessary.

Leslie

[gene]

Looks to me like we all have a place to go after Annmarie's!! Beautiful property, beautiful oils.....getting my bags packed now! I've been known to stalk Linda....so she says.
_________________
gene , jonah , miko and rumor

http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p46/jonahfus
"A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down." - Robert Benchley

[River Rat]

Only the top two are oils, so you may want to unpack your bags. The others are pastels. And there are BUGS! Drove me in just now from watering the strawberries. Since I was watering, I guess I was sort of on topic although I didn't have a dog. Wait, my neighbor's chocolate lab was here earlier, having come via the river I suspect. So we're good.

Leslie

[gene]

Leslie, maybe I'll just unpack 1 bag....then head off to art school for a refresher art appreciation course.....
_________________
gene , jonah , miko and rumor

http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p46/jonahfus
"A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down." - Robert Benchley