A Complicated Labradoodle And Proud Of It!

Woof woof! My name is Duke; I have an eight-year-old Labradoodle. And this will be quite a ride because I will tell you all about me.

If there's a dog Tinder out there, I would not put this into my profile. Any female dog would look at this and say, "way too much baggage, no thanks!" But here, it's OK. I'll dig into everything that you need to know about me.

I am one complicated Labradoodle! But one thing for sure is I love my family; my mommy and daddy are the best doggy parents any die could have. I also have a human brother and sister who have been super supportive and wonderful for me.

So let's go, digging into this past I have!

In the beginning

My mom, one day, went onto Facebook, and she saw this beautiful picture of me with my blend of chocolate curls and a patch of white hair on my face, and my mom was hooked!

My mom and dad picked me up with my human brother, Tony, when I was about 10 weeks old. I was born in Rhode Island, New York. When they first drove up on a dirt road in Rhode Island, I was shaking like a leaf in my breeder's arms.

It was December, so I was cold, and there was frost in the air. I was also extremely nervous! I just left my littermates and my mom, so it was natural that I would be freaked out.

But the minute my mom held me in her arms, her warmth sent her love melted away. Any nerves, I was instantly feeling safe.

My Genetic History

My parents thought I would be a mini Labradoodle that way, as I may be up to 22 pounds, but no, sir, I proved everybody wrong. I landed being a 37-pound multigenerational Australian Labradoodle.

Does that name sound cool? I thought so, and my parents thought this was super cool. They went onto Amazon right away. I got a DNA test because they wanted to see what other breeds could be in my genetic makeup.

And the results came in: I am a poodle, Chesapeake Bay retriever, a fraction of a cocker spaniel, and it hits an English springer spaniel.

Let me tell you, when you mix all those breeds together, you get all their genes and all that stuff. It's a crapshoot.

My Puppyhood

I came into the family as a very nervous, freaked-out puppy. Everything overwhelmed me: the noise, the wind blowing the leaves up; if I saw a trash truck on the road or people, it freaked me out. I would pull my mom and dad back into the house for safety. Unfortunately, I wasn't always so great with handling. My nervousness was that I would snap, growl, and get aggressive, even with my best parents. I love to the ends of the Earth.

And I had so much energy you would think I was like a bull in a China shop. I would crash into everything, especially the other dogs in the house. I would rip the dog toys away from them; if my parents put me in a crate, I would bash my nose so hard against the crate that I'd make it bleed.

This was a lot for my parents to handle. They saw immediately that I needed some heavy-duty training. Another huge challenge was getting along with the other dogs in the house.

The Cavaliers

So when I came into their lives, my parents had to cavalier King Charles Spaniels. My doggy sister, Sadie, four years older than me, and a dog named Maximus, seven years older than me. Unfortunately, he had an unfortunate situation. He was going paralyzed, and he had a crazy disease called degenerative myelopathy. It's a disease of the spinal cord. Slowly, within two years after being diagnosed, the dog starts to lose strength and becomes paralyzed.

That's why Mom bought me; it was an emotional purchase one day when she found out the fate of her beloved Maximus. She also wanted to make sure that Sadie had a friend; Sadie had almost as much energy as I did, so we needed to work together to become friends. Let me give you a hint, without it, being the best of friends.

My G.I. Troubles

From the very beginning, I vomited all the time; I couldn't hold anything down. I would make a mess everywhere. The vomit got so bad. It would be up to six times a day. My parents had to take me to a Specialist to find out that I did indeed have a food allergy. They had to do this procedure called an endoscope when I was four months old. It was that scary, but it did provide the information they needed.

I had inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, and I was super allergic to all dairy and chicken. No wonder it was hard to feed me. I even had to go on a small dose of prednisone every other day to make sure that they brought the information down. I still am on it seven years later.

My special food is Royal Canaan Veterinarian Diet Ultra, which means no dog food. It's made up of hydrolyzed proteins, and they break them down, and it helps prevent any allergic reactions. It smells so good; my mom thinks it smells like "chicken in the basket" crackers.

No, don't get me wrong. I can't have the occasional treat or two, but not like typical treats; it's usually raw carrots, string beans, and apples. They, for some reason, don't bother my stomach.

My Anxiety

Well, let me tell you, this was a big one. I would have full-blown panic attacks and get very aggressive with anything different for me. Loud noises from the road and going into town to see other people were too much for me. For some reason, I always felt very threatened.

After several dog trainers who worked with my parents and me, we eventually had to go see a dog therapist. Can you believe it? There's actually think all dog therapy.

The dog therapist taught my parents that I needed to refocus my attention from my fear to something fun like doing different skills: sit, stay lay down, touch this, touch that; she also told my parents I am incredibly brilliant!

As much as I did all my work, I still felt stressed out, and eventually, we had to put me on a medication called Paxil, which finally did the trick. But occasionally, I can get very aggressive if someone thinks they can pet me. Part of it is anxiety and part of it is I'm very protective of my mommy !!

My parents are always apologetic when they turn people down. They say, "Personal space, please; he needs personal space; he's just not that friendly."

Even to this day, I hate taking a walk without both my parents. If one of them tries to go with me, forget it. I'm not interested. I need both of them with me.

My Allergies

About five years ago, when we had to get a leptospirosis vaccine, my face blew up like a grapefruit; WOW! My parents had to rush me to the vet hospital to be treated. We never did that again. Then I had to have my follow-up rabies a few years later, and I collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth. Another allergy attack.

So we're definitely a vaccine-free family for sure. Thanks to all my severe anaphylactic reactions!

At the time, I started getting all these really awful hot spots, and I started picking up my nails, chewing them, licking them to the bled. So back to the specialist I went, this time to the Skin doctor.

Now, with several different medications, as well as injections for immunotherapy, plus weekly baths, I'm able to manage a lot of my allergies.

Mommy

I love my entire family, but my mommy is my world; we don't separate from each other much. She has anxiety, too, so I think the two of us help each other out. When she gets ready for bed every night, I stand beside her while she brushes her teeth and hair, and we wait to go to bed together.

It's a special bond that I don't think she's really had with other dogs, and that's OK cause I get jealous if I think about my mommy with another dog!

One thing is for sure: I have not been the easiest for my parents, but let me tell you, with all my health issues and anxiety, Mom and Dad love me to pieces.

So there you have it. You understand why I would not add this to my doggy Tinder app if there was one. And if there were dogs, they would undoubtedly be swiping left. Do you know what? I don't even know why I bother. I would go on Dog Tinder because no matter what, my mom already takes my heart.

Mic drop!

This story was previously published on Medium.