Dogs of Del Mar: Annie and Nikki

Our dogs, Annie and Nikki (a male) are both labradoodles, raised together but from different breeders. We got them from a trainer who re-homes labradoodles, and their names came from that trainer. She thought Annie was a more appropriate name than her previous name Tamale. Nikki was originally named Nikko, after his father, but the trainer changed it to Nikki. Since they were trained with these names, we decided to keep them as is.

Felise fell in love with Nikki from pictures that the trainer posted. He just looked like an old soul. When we got there to pick him up, Annie and Nikki were already strongly bonded. Annie was 5 months old and Nikki was 6 months older. Between playing bouts Annie came over to John and put her head on his foot and looked up at him. Then she rolled on her back asking for a belly rub. Guess why we have two dogs!

They both love to chase balls and bring them back. Nikki will hoard the balls and lie on top of them  so Annie can’t take them away. Annie will sit patiently until Nikki rolls one of the balls toward her. Smart girl! Annie is very engaging and will put her head in your lap as soon as you are willing. Nikki is a little more reserved but when he knows that you are friendly, he will ask you to scratch his back.

We are a traveling circus when we fly to Maine with them. Although a hassle, once we are there, it’s a joy to see them off leash romping through the forest chasing squirrels. One of their favorite things to do is to sit at the bow of our motorboat and sniff the scents of the lake and the clear Maine air. They are great fun and add so much to our lives.