Introducing Auggie + Taylor

I have met so many amazing pups and their humans online through Instagram. But often the exchanges that happen are quick and surface level, so I wanted to start a "Get to Know You" series to dig a bit deeper to learn more about the special connection that pups and humans have in our awesome community.

To kick it off, I reached out to Taylor and Auggie, and here’s what I learned about their story and life together:

How did you "meet" Auggie?

We already had 2 ‘senior’ pups (Vida- Viszla and Bindi- Yorkiepoo). We unexpectedly lost their younger brother Henry (poodlemutt) at 3 years old. Henry helped keep our house young and we were really missing his youthful energy. We decided it was time to add a third dog to our house. We let a friend know we were casually looking for a young dog and hoping for a poodle/doodle mix. Our friend found Auggie via Craigslist. A family with three young children needed to rehome their 5 month old goldendoodle because he was way too much work for their family. I saw his face and immediately sent the posting to my husband with a message “have you seen my new dog?” as a joke. Next thing I knew we were driving home from Seattle with a puppy in our back seat! That puppy turned out to be Auggie!

How did you decide what to name him?

This is going to sound weird so stick with me. When Auggie was with his old family his name was ‘Otto’. We decided that he needed a new name for his new life but wanted something a little ‘different’. I kept coming back to the name Auggie because my 5th grade teacher had twin boys named ‘Otto’ and “Auggie”. It just sounded right, and similar to Otto, so we decided to go with Auggie! He picked up on his new name quickly! He is known at “Soggy Auggie” at our house because his beard is always wet.

What's the best life lesson that Auggie has taught you?

Patience (Puppies are a lot of work!)! He has also taught us to live in the moment and enjoy life!

What about Auggie’s personality makes you smile the most?

Auggie is extremely goofy and a handful! He is very busy and is almost always doing something. He would probably drive the average dog owner bonkers but I love his personality, including when he “talks” back to me to get my attention. He loves to let you know his opinion on things whether he wants attention or doesn’t like something (like his Kong in his food bowl, that’s a ‘no-no’ to him!) He is sassy but extremely smart and knows when to ‘settle’ when asked.

What is your favorite activity to do together?

We love to go to dog parks and meet up with our dog friends! I love taking Auggie swimming and working on his ‘dock diving’ skills at a local training facility. I also really love taking dog training classes with him.

How is life with him different than it was before?

Auggie is leash reactive towards other dogs. I never knew about leash reactivity (or reactivity in general) before I had him. Being leash reactive means that when he is on a leash he will react (bark, jump, lunge) when he see’s other dogs. He goes to doggy day care and dog parks; he loves to play with other dogs but the minute he is put on a leash his demeanor completely changes. Our trainers think it is a combination of excitement and fearfulness (not being able to escape while on a leash). We have taken several reactive rover classes and now work with a trainer one on one. With Auggie’s leash reactivity we have to think through places/scenarios before we take him. We cannot randomly go on a hike or take him to a food cart pod, because if he has to be on a leash with other dogs around, he will most likely go “over threshold”. My husband and I are “on watch” when we take him out and are constantly working with him to overcome his reactivity. Sometimes we will take our other pups out on a walk (without Auggie) and are reminded what life is like with a dog that is not leash reactive! Its been an eye opening experience but we are dedicated to working through this with him.

If Auggie had a superpower, what would it be?

He would shoot lasers out of his eyes! Auggie has a very intense stare and I always say it looks like he is shooting laser out of his eyes.

What is the funniest thing that he does?

He does funny things every day, but I would say his weird obsession with my patio pillows is hilarious. He lives to carry those pillows around the back yard! He is also very bad at group photos and if we are trying to take a group photo with other dogs there is a 98% chance he will start rolling on his back and totally ruin the photo.

What is his favorite trick?

His favorite trick is “middle” where he comes through the middle of your legs, sits and looks up to you for a pet (or treat). He started doing “middle” to other people at the dog park and they get very confused and then happy. It is hilarious.

He also “kicks” his legs to get our attention. He lays on his side with his legs out and “kicks” them. At the same time he makes a very faint puff/bark noise. He will continue to do this until you give him attention, or he finds a toy. He does this multiple times a day, its adorable and annoying!

Follow Auggie on Instagram + TikTok

If you'd like to follow along on more of Auggie and his sisters' adventures, you can find him here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.auggie.adventures/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.auggie.adventures

And if you'd like a chance for your pup to be featured in an upcoming post, shoot me an email and let me know at jenny @ wagtheory.com! 

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