A Hello from Kona – The Aussiedoodle!
Hello! My name is Kona! I’m 7 months old, and they tell me I’m an Aussiedoodle – which I guess means I’m an Australian Shepherd/ Poodle mix. When I get excited about stuff, I like to bump into mom’s legs to make her go faster. When I was a puppy, she would look for me and every time she turned around I’d circle her so I was always behind her. It used to drive her nuts – she says it’s the Aussie in me! She’s really bad at finding me though so now I’ve learned to stand still and wait patiently for her to figure it out.
I love most things in life! I simply Love Love Love them! I live with a boring older dog who is pessimistic, but as for me, there’s fun to be found everywhere and life is full of surprises! I pride myself in being very observant. Sometimes I’ll just sit there and watch while mom and dad do things, and then when I get the idea of how it goes, I join in! It turns out that they don’t always need much help though. Dad was watering his indoor plants once with this great big green watering can. Then he must have forgot what he was doing because he put the watering can down and he walked away. I’m super good at helping, so I figured I would take it to him, but it turns out the watering can was quite large for a 4 month old puppy – so most of the water ended up on the floor, and the rest ended up on me! I thought I really hit the mark, though, when I saw mom picking raspberries in the back garden. The plants are prickly, but I’m a clever girl. I was able to pull my lips back “just so” and pick the berries off the bushes! Then I ate them. (We’re trying to get rid of the berries of course. That’s the whole idea). Mom saw me though and she says I’m no good at raspberry picking, and that the raspberries I picked were all green. She’s really particular about stuff like that. I’m still learning to help out my parents in any way I can! So far I’ve learned to prune and uproot plants, taste the dishwater in the washing bins, shred the trash to make it easier to dispose of, and redesign the labels on boring sneakers.
It’s been a long time coming, and I believe I must be a good dog because I get lots of love and snuggles. However, I did have my lawless youth. As a puppy, my parents confined me to the kitchen by walling off the doorway with cardboard and pinning it in place with a trash can and the fridge. Unfortunately, it turns out that kitchens are terribly boring. I found out quickly that it was against the rules to open the lazy Susan and take out the Tupperware, so really the only other exciting option was to leave the kitchen. It turns out that was against the rules too, though, so before long I figured out how to move the trash can, move the cardboard, sneak into Mom’s room to steal her clothes, then go back to the kitchen, and move the cardboard and the trashcan back in place so nobody would ever know. I hid the evidence in my dog bed.
I’m a big doggy now so I don’t get trapped in the kitchen anymore. My parents confessed that it didn’t really work out well anyways. I keep mom entertained by constantly making jokes and being clumsy. She trains me how to play fetch and do agility. She says I have boundless energy and that I’m extremely popular with dogs and kids! She says I don’t shed and I never smell bad – instead I have a unique “Kona” smell which smells nice. She says I’m really receptive to everyone’s feelings, and I’m very kind at heart! When my big sister dog had gotten back from her surgery, I could tell that she was sick and I just wanted to lick her face and tell her everything would be okay! I’m a really brave dog. Thunderstorms and fireworks don’t scare me. Some stuff scares me though (like really big dogs that pick on me for being a puppy), but I get over things pretty well. I trust mom, and she trusts me. We’re happy to cuddle up on her bed (which isn’t covered in dog fur, as I don’t shed!) and snuggle and watch TV together.
Facts about me :
- I’m a standard sized Aussiedoodle – which is the largest size, I think.
- I’m really, really, really intelligent! Mom says I’m like a border collie!
- I have tons of energy, but I can relax and cuddle better than a border collie can!
- I can bark incessantly. Mom says it’s obnoxious. But I only do it because I hear stuff, and then I get sort of addicted.
- Mom was surprised by how much she needs to clip my coat – especially my face! It was hard to train me to be okay with it. She says novice dog owners would find it super tough to clip my face without knowing how to acclimate dogs to scary things.
- My coat is endearingly raggedy and I have fluffy mittens for paws.
- I get really nauseous in the car! I almost never drool, but in the car I drool buckets!
- I’m really good at being gentle. Sometimes I get a little rough but if I think I might have accidentally hurt somebody I lick them right away to make it all better. One of my best friends is my 4 year old next-door neighbor girl, Guinevere, who helps train me.
- I have a really weird, super long tail. Mom says I’m lucky because lots of people crop – or cut off the tails off – my kind when they’re puppies. Ouch! No thank you!
- I’m a velcro dog! I follow mummy everywhere. I prefer to have my people in sight at all times. I can be in a dead sleep but the instant she leaves the room I know, and I get up and follow, and then resume my “dead sleep” mode at her feet when she seems stationary.
- I’m soft, and I’m sweet, and I love to eat! Perhaps I’m crazy, but tell me who isn’t!
Mom got me from this breeder who she says is really knowledgeable and reputable, and always stands by her dogs! One day, I’ll be an agility champion, and a dabbler in disc dog! But right now, I just love being a cute Aussiedoodle puppy!
Credit: Thank you Karianne for this delightful article about Kona. She sounds likes a wonderful Aussiedoodle!
