Sitting in my Comfortable Recliner Chair

Sitting in my comfortable recliner chair one day, I decided that I was going to have another go at persuading my husband to think about us getting a dog.  I’d had experience of having dogs as pets before but my husband had never had the pleasure and he wasn’t really up for it.  However, I had a brainwave.  “Why don’t you join the golf club, then you can play as much as you want at the weekends” I said to him one day.  He looked at me puzzled and said “but what will you do while I’m playing golf?” “I’ll walk the dog”  I said, a lightbulb moment appeared on his face and that was it; a dog hunting mission began.

We considered rescuing a dog at first and so I searched on all the pet rescue websites I could find but even though I wanted to rescue every single one of them, it became apparent that our home wouldn’t be suitable for them. Lots of the poor little souls needed someone to be around most of the day and I was working part time, a lot had behavioural or health issues and so we decided that as it would be a first pet owning experience for my husband, it would probably be better to have a puppy that we would train ourselves from the beginning.

Training Days

And so along came Freddie.  Our super cute little Cavachon; he’s half Bichon Frise and half King Charles Cavalier and what a little star he is, I fell in love with him immediately. Having a puppy isn’t easy at first and I’ve got to admit I’d forgotten how hard it was.  First there was the crying in the night which although it broke my heart to hear him, I knew I wouldn’t get away with bringing him up to bed with us, so I placed a small hot water bottle wrapped in an old jumper in his bed before we went to bed and it did the trick. We also had a crate for him and I covered the top and sides with an old sheet which I think helped him feel more secure and in time to come he would often take himself off to bed for a bit of peace I think.  Then there was the peeing and pooing problem.  We placed puppy pads around the house but often he would miss and the carpet would need another scrub and disinfect. We also got a bit complacent after a while and thought he had cracked it but there was still the odd little accident and we realised that we weren’t recognising the signs that he was giving us to let us know that he needed “to go”.  Once we realised this the whole toilet training side of things became a lot easier and eventually he learned to go outside all of the time.  Surprisingly he learned the word “no'' quite quickly and he also learned to sit on command fairly soon.  Cavachons are quite clever little dogs and learn new things easily (with a little bit of persuasion by way of treats of course).

Pup, Pup and Away

One of the best parts of having a dog is taking them out for walks.  We love getting out in the fresh air and taking our little pal with us.  To see him running in front of us, tail wagging, sniffing and bounding around off of the lead (where appropriate) makes my heart fill with such happiness, it really does make my day.  He especially loves the beach, we often go over to the east coast and Freddie absolutely loves bounding around, smelling all of the pebbles, rocks and shells he can find.  He likes a little paddle in the sea but never goes in past his legs, a bit like me really and I’m glad as I wouldn’t fancy going in to rescue him if he got into trouble, although I probably would if I had to.  After a nice long walk we love to call at a dog friendly pub and have a meal and a drink with our boy sitting by our feet, waiting for tasty morsels to come his way…pure bliss.

Doggy Do’s (and Don’ts)

Of course owning a dog is a big responsibility.  I absolutely detest the kind of people who refuse to pick up their dog’s poo and just leave it for others to tread in.  There is absolutely no excuse for not picking it up, if you don’t want to do it, don’t get a dog in the first place, it’s that simple.  Also responsible dog owners will not let their pets off the lead in the countryside, where there is livestock.  By law dog owners have a responsibility to keep their dogs under control so it is important to be mindful when out and about.  Keep your dog on a lead if its recall isn’t what it should be.

Expenses

Dog ownership can also be expensive.  Before deciding on getting a pet, look carefully at the costs that can occur.  Firstly there is insurance, you will need this not only to pay towards vet’s fees if your pet needs treatment but also to cover you if your pet does anyone harm or causes an accident, check your insurance covers for such occasions before buying.  Your pet will also need to have vaccinations to protect them from diseases and then annual boosters. You may also want to have your pet neutered when they are old enough. Then there is the cost of feeding them.  There are so many different types of dog food available now, the latest type of food being recommended at the moment is raw food, which can be quite expensive.  Also the bigger your dog is the more food it will eat.  If you have a non shedding dog like ours you may have the additional cost of regular grooming.  Our boy is groomed every seven weeks, so the costs add up (he’s worth it though).  Then there’s the equipment you will need, collars, leads, crates, dog beds, blankets, towels, toys, harnesses, coats, bowls, treats, it can go on and on.  We personally think that the pleasure our boy gives us far outweighs the costs of having him, so for us he is well worth the expense.

Mission Impossible?

We’d had Freddie for about three years and we began to notice that he was sleeping a lot more than he used to and wasn’t that interested in playing with us anymore.  He still loved going out for long walks and playing with other dogs when out and about but I got the feeling that he may have been a bit depressed.  It made me feel sad to see him moping about and I realised that maybe he needed a little playmate.  So off I went on another mission to persuade my husband for us to get another dog.  I’d never had two dogs at the same time before so I couldn’t convey to my husband that it would be easier with two as I wasn’t even sure myself but I just knew that our little boy was unhappy and it was breaking my heart to see him so sad all the time.  Eventually I think I wore him down and he finally agreed we could get another dog.

Puppy Love

So then along came Jackson making our little family complete.  We decided to get another Cavachon as they are such easy going, lovely natured and fun dogs to have. Freddie was a little unsure at first but soon came to realise that this little bundle of fluffy fun would be a great little pal for him to play with.  Indeed he has returned to the fun loving, lively dog that he was and is living his best life once more.  They both love running and playing together and have so much fun, it is a joy to behold.  I love nothing more than watching them play together while out on a good walk and it’s great to know that they have each other’s company and we don’t have to rely on other dogs being around for Freddie to run around with as he has his own little playmate now. 

So after another fun filled walk we return home, flop into our recliner chairs and watch our tired boys sleeping it off by our feet.  Happy dogs, happy humans, happy days, what more could we ask for?