This is one sweet eleven-week old, this Scooter Sublime. Golden Retirever/Poodle/Golden-doodle/toy poodle bred to get miniature Scooter, so we expect a bit more poodle smart than retriever sweet. 

Either temperament delights us. We had two goldens for years; two poodles at separate times for years more. Now we have Scooter, and we wonder, which temperament will prevail?

Imagine my surprise when recently I saw darling dog stretched out on the carpet, chewing. Chewing what? I wondered. Not his green ball, no. it wasn’t his stuffed Lamb, hedgehog, or teddy-bear; not his “safe, unflavored teething ring,” not the blue Kong tire, or the yellow monkey’s knot rope toy. What was it? I approached him wondering which temperament will respond to my attempt to inspect or remove the object. Sweet or Smart? 

Silly me. Who was this pup with jaws clamped closed, swinging his head away from my approaching hand, growling . . .What? Growling?  It was Determined Dog; dog with a voice that met the question, “What do you have in your mouth?”  

“A small, sealable, plastic bag that once held a button from a local dress shop. I really like it,” said he with a snarl and a sharp snap of his jaw to the left.

“Whoa,” thought I. Not retriever sweet, not even poodle smart—this is bulldog stubborn. He thinks himself an untrained 40-pounder with broad shoulders and short legs hunched over what he meant to maul to its death then consume. Only, I was Mama dog. I was working with a puppy who hadn’t quite caught on that while he garners great attention, treats, and tolerance, he’s not massive, he’s not mean; he’s not managing to keep a plastic bag. “NO.” 

I’ve been trained. My eyes locked on his, I exercised the called for calm-assertive energy, I demonstrated big body language (his energy now settling on squirmy rather than assertive). My growling was greater than his. My fingers gained more and more of his prize by prying it from his tiny, sharp teeth till, finally, the mauled bag was in my hand and he was in my lap, licking the hand that broke the spell of stubborn. Sweet. Smart. But, obviously, there’s more,