How we came to get Hazel is a crazy story. If you have been following us for a while you may remember my first female poodle Sophie(black and white). She failed her health testing so per her health guarantee we would get a replacement puppy. Her breeder rarely has litters but by chance had some older puppies she had taken in from another breeder. Her original breeder had cancer and was unable to care for her dogs any longer due to her illness. The breeder we would be getting a replacement from had only had Hazel a couple weeks. Hazel came from the original line of parti poodles, her parents were health tested, one of her siblings had already been tested at the time and had passed, and she had champion bloodlines. That hit all the check marks for me for what I would expect for a replacement. So me and my dad headed to Texas. I hadn’t even seen a picture of her I only had the breeders description from talking on the phone and I was super excited.
We got there after a very long drive and I was in love. Hazel was so beautiful. She was in a show puppy cut. But she was scared to death of us. They ended up picking her up and putting her in our truck and we headed home. She was so nervous all the way home. She was scared to death of us especially my dad. She didn’t want to walk on a leash. She was petrified just wanted to stand in the same spot. At one rest stop she slipped out of her harness and it is only by the grace of God and the help of a stranger we were able to catch her. After that she had a collar and harness on at all times. But long story short we made it home.
Home. She was so unsure. she acted like she had never known love. She didn’t know what love was. You let her out to potty it took 3 hours to catch her and get her back in the house. She barked every time you got close to her or near her outside.
To be honest I thought it would always be like this. For us temperament is key for our mamas. If they don’t have a good temperament they don’t become a mama. 4 months…it took 4 months for her to completely trust us.
Hazel was 7 months old when she came to us and highly un-socialized. I am assuming from her breeder not being able to take her out and about. I believe she had never left her home. She also takes longer to warm up to men which leads me to believe she was never socialized to them either.
We have done so much work with Hazel. We basically went back to the beginning like she was a puppy with socialization. Now she walks perfect on a leash, she loves to be groomed(she used to hate it with a passion), and she knows what toys are and loves them. Hazel has become my best friend. She is I have to say one of my favorites. She still takes a second to warm up to new people but treats are the way to her heart. She is deeply devoted to her family. She sleeps in my bed every night. She snuggles close.She loves to bury her head into me and breathe deep as if for comfort. I can’t explain how sweet she has become. She loves to race around the pasture during playtime but happily races back as soon as she hears me call. She is so sweet and gentle with the puppies and I know she is going to make an excellent mother. The turn around she has made is unbelievable. She is proof that some dogs just need time and love! She just needed to learn was love was and she was hooked. I love my Hazel Basil so much and am so happy that she passed all her health testing with flying colors and carries for amazing colors!
