How Bee and Eli Began Their Adventures

Welcome! This is a new blog created to chronicle our adventures in working with and training our two dogs! 


Beeblebrox is a 5 1/2 year old Newfoundland (?)/retriever mix! Apparently he also has some border collie in him. He's a loveable, goofy, silly boy named after Zaphod Beeblebrox in Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He's super friendly, to the point of being rude to other dogs at times because he's so desperate to meet them. I'm one of those owners who used to say "He just wants to say hi!" Now I might still say that, but first I make sure he's in control and the other dog actually wants him to say hi! He's not an easy dog despite his friendliness. Overly-friendly dogs represent their own set of challenges as an owner, especially living in the city with lots of other dogs around, and when they weigh 75 lbs! Beeblebrox is my boyfriend's "soul dog." We love him to bits!


Eli is a 5 year old pit bull rescued from the PSPCA 4 years ago. Eli was confiscated from his previous owner for cruelty and at one year old he weighed 28 lbs, was mangey, was loaded with intestinal parasites, and had exposed bone on his tail. Eli was surrendered with another dog and the officers were told by the "owner" that he didn't feed them because they fought when he fed them. What we didn't know then is that Eli is an incredibly sensitive, intelligent dog with a naturally high level of anxiety. Living with an overly-friendly dog did not help this! We have worked through a lengthy and difficult integration with our boys and we are so thankful to everyone who has helped us achieve a level of success we often did not think was possible! Eli is my "soul dog" and we couldn't live without him!


I'm Abby, a VMD-PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania. When we first adopted each of our dogs separately, I adopted Bee, my boyfriend, Jonathan, adopted Eli, we had basically no knowledge of dog training, dog behavior, or anything related. We have learned so much with our puppies and we are so excited to share our continued progress with you! Jonathan is a graduate student at Thomas Jefferson University, assistant teaches Beginner Tricks at Y2K9s Dog Sports Club, and walks dogs for Walkies. 

Thanks for reading!