I adopted a fluffy Goldendoodle – I love her but she was not what I expected and I’m relieved she’s no longer a puppy
A PET owner has revealed that their puppy turned out to be very different than what they expected.
Now that owner’s dog, a Goldendoodle named Sophie, is fully grown, they took to social media to note several unexpected discoveries about the breed.
Influencer and Goldendoodle aficionado Joanna (@MyGoldendoodlediary) explained in a recent video on YouTube that there were at least five specific surprises that her puppy had in store for her.
Joanna said that although she had done extensive research about raising a puppy, she had created assumptions about what raising Sophie would be like.
Nevertheless, it was “quite different” than what the influencer had anticipated.
“I’m super relieved she’s now an adult,” Joanna said.
1. HIGH ENERGY
At the beginning of the video, Joanna explained that she decided to get a Goldendoodle puppy after encountering a calm and affectionate pup of the same breed while spending time with friends.
However, the influencer said she quickly found out after getting Sophie that this wasn’t every Goldendoodle’s inherent behavior.
Joanna claimed that her dog’s puppyhood was often “intense” and “stressful” due to Sophie’s hyper-active behavior.
Despite this, the influencer said she wouldn’t trade the time for anything, and it’s “not to downgrade the lots and lots of beautiful moments.”
2. NO SNUGGLING
The second unexpected quality about Sophie was her apprehension to snuggling, according to Joanna.
The YouTuber claimed that other Goldendoodle owners have said that the breed will often warmly cuddle up, but Joanna found this would not happen with Sophie.
“When she was a pup, there was no way Sophie would snuggle up to me like this,” Joanna noted, motioning to the dog lying across her lap.
“Other Goldendoodle owners managed to get those cuddly puppies, but that just wasn’t Sophie.”
Instead, Sophie was “curious about her environment” and incredibly intelligent.
Joanna continued that the pup was “confident and friendly,” but liked to nap and rest on her own.
Then, at the age of two, Sophie finally started cuddling with her owner.
3. HIGH STRUNG
The Goldendoodle guru also noted that Sophie had a relatively high strung personality as a puppy.
She could be anxious one minute, and calm and confident the next.
“I did spend a lot of time teaching her commands to stimulate her mind,” Joanna said.
This included exercise, toys, and other activities to get the pup’s energy out.
Still, Sophie exhibited high amounts of excitement and barked continuously when other people would come visit Joanna’s home.
4. SEPERATION ANXIETY
Additionally, Sophie exhibited traits of separation anxiety as a puppy.
“I soon found that Sophie wanted to have me near her all of the time,” Joanna explained.
She continued that she even spent the first couple of nights sleeping by the pup’s kennel downstairs so it could sleep.
Ultimately, Joanna cut Sophie off, which resulted in hours of barking for nights on end until the dog got used to sleeping by herself.
Joanna said that it was the biggest challenge that she encountered raising Sophie.
The influencer said that despite Sophie’s barking decreasing considerably, she doesn’t believe it will ever go away entirely.
5. UNEXPECTED BOND
Lastly, Joanna explained that in spite of all the challenges, the bond that can be created with Goldendoodles is deep.
“My patience grew, my powers of observation were honed, and I worked things out,” the dog owner noted.
“I eventually got my perfect dog, just not in the way I expected.”
Joanna said that she recognized each pup is unique, and Sophie spreads joy in her own way as a “freelance therapy dog.”
“And because of the challenges, I think that along the way she’s made me a better person,” the influencer concluded.
For more on pets, check out The U.S. Sun’s coverage of a vet’s warning to owners over a certain “toy” that you should never get your pup.
The U.S. Sun also has the story on a glow-up that transformed one puppy into something very different.