Once upon a time, not long ago, there was a Prince and Princess who lived alone in a nice but small castle with a fenced yard.

One day they decided to bring some joy and excitement into their lives by getting a puppy. They had noticed that many of their neighbors were out enjoying walking THEIR pups. After a lot of online research, they decided a bernedoodle was exactly what their castle needed. Finding the right breeder took even more research but finally they decided on Canadian Bernedoodles in Sorrento, BC.

Lady Luck was shining down on their castle as, after a couple of phone calls with Sarah, there was a female tricolour puppy available! The Prince gassed up the carriage and away he and the Princess drove the very next day for 4.5 hours to meet Sarah and pup.

Like most fairy tales, it was love at first sight! The Prince and Princess were smitten with the, as yet unnamed puppy.

The next three weeks were a flurry of activity as the nice, but small, castle was prepared for the new little Princess’s arrival. Crates, leashes, collars, dog dishes, beds, toys…oh the toys!…all ordered and delivered to the door by men wearing dark uniforms.

Then one very sunny morning, Sarah and her team met us in a parking lot to pass over the now named ‘Princess Abby’.

We hurried home with our precious cargo and we all settled down for a nap. Christmas was a flurry with some modifications; no big tree with decorations to tempt the pup. Instead, a small fibre optic lit tree up on a table provided a festive but safe spirit. A small stocking was hung with Abby’s name on it.

In the new year, there were vet visits for check ups and puppy vaccinations. Finally, once the last set of shots at 16 weeks were done, we signed up for Puppy School. Yes, there were trying times with puppy-hood… the zoomies, the biting…these are really mini sharks in tricolour coats but yes, Life was good.

Then, two weeks into Puppy School our world stopped spinning as COVID-19 took hold. We couldn’t see anyone to ‘socialize’, so Princess Abby lived in the castle much like Rapunzel did with no friends but the Prince and Princess to play with.

We continued training via Zoom sessions with our trainer and that, plus some YouTube videos, gave us tips and skills we needed to work on. I won’t kid you; these bernedoodles are ACTIVE and, are either stubborn or nonchalant about complying! This was not my first time at training a dog, but Abby was a challenge. The good news was potty training went smoothly using the’ bells on the door’ system. The Prince and Princess became royal doormen holding the door open and close for the young Princess Abby!

Abby’s spay date was also postponed due to COVID-19, so we went through a heat season at age 7.5 months with no difficulty. Finally, we were able to reschedule her spay OR at 11 months of age. NOW we were able to sign her up for Doggie Daycare. She goes every Sunday on a farm with 10,000 SF outdoor arena play space plus a large indoor area. She LOVES it. She also gets a daily walk and run off leash on the Alouette River dikes. These dogs LOVE to run…NEED to run… and it burns off her ‘zoomie’ energy.

When at home in the nice, but small, castle, she is a couch potato and loves to be with her people. She particularly loves to lie ON them or curl AROUND their neck like a scarf. Luckily, she does NOT snore. Her pink and black nose slowly changed colour to nearly all black; her pads as well slowly transformed.

The Prince and Princess’s kingdom is forever changed for the better. While it took some time and a lot of patience, training and treats, Princess Abby has grown up to be a lovely young lady. Thank you Sarah for your words of encouragement along the way

Clair & Giuseppe F1 moyen Bernedoodle