Things to think about before committing to a puppy

This time next month, I will have had Lux for an entire 12 months. 1 whole year.

Seriously though, what year it has been. 

Has it been easy?

HAHAHA. No.

Has it been hard?

In a word....YES.

Has it been stressful?

Yup.

Has it been eye opening?

Hell yes.

Would I ever have another puppy?

Erm, no.

But has it been worth it?

Yes, it's been so worth it. It's been a complete eye opener, but the love little Lux conveys for his humans, and the bond that we all have with him has made everything else so worth it.

I am going to be sharing some of my personal highlights over this last year, but if they aren't enough to make you really consider 'is a puppy right for our family', then maybe these 10 points to consider before getting a puppy will help...

Although it was rather funny when Leo and Lux accidently went viral earlier this year. If you missed them, check Lux out over on the Daily Mail, and you may recognise them both from this video...

Puppies are hard work, they will push buttons you didn't even know you had. They will eat your shoes, socks, underwear (come to think of it there isn't much that they won't eat.), they will even eat your walls and make holes in your laminate flooring (Karndean Flooring is the way to go, forget about carpet...)

They will be excited, out of the box excited. You will meet people you didn't anticipate in meeting (mainly because the puppy has dragged you through the field and over the fence to get to them, Note: wear comfortable shoes). They will take things and run away just to get your attention (and then after you have done 10 laps of the garden, they will chew it up just to spite you). 

In those early days (and then some) you can bet your bottom dollar that they will use your house as a toilet. All the puppy pads in the world cannot help you, they will just go wherever they feel like going... 

The puppy phase (which is still a thing at 13 months for us....) is hard. You will need wine, you will need thick skin and you will need patience. Lots and lots of patience. 

Granted Lux is getting better, it's taken time but with each week and month that passes, we are slowly and tentatively making progress. Although if you were to ask the poor man who had Lux for us while we were on holiday, he might tell you something completely different. He could not wait to give Lux back to us, and even attempted to bring him back a day early (while we were still out of the country!), but settled for the very first thing in the morning...(we are talking before 9am, and originally he wasn't due home until the afternoon!).

When I describe Lux there are Two endearing terms I like to use. He is the original Asbo Pup and he is also the real life Marley, the naughtiest dog in the world. It's true, this puppy once tried to steal a mince pie from an unsuspecting elderly lady at a Christmas market in the Cotswolds, and it quite honestly seems like his actual goal in life is to humiliate/destroy me.

Let me count the ways Lux has put his life goal into action...

1. He cocked his leg on the coffee table when we went to visit the dog board for the first time...

2. He tried to dominate another dog's face....(need I say more?)

3. He did a number 2 as he walked  through town that was beyond picking up... It needed scrubbing. So guess who had to come back with hot water and a scrubber? Yes. Me,

4. We were walking up a hill through the nature reserve at the back of my parents house. Lux saw another dog, went back down the hill taking me with him. It was a case of hold on to the dog for dear life so that he doesn't run to the dog...Or smash my face into the tree. I opted to let go of the lead, leaving the man and the dog at the bottom of the slope in disbelief, he didn't believe that my family home was at the top of the hill and quite obviously thought I was dodgy...

5.  He once chewed my phone to the point that the screen was nothing but colorful lines... Yes I had to upgrade early.

6. One time I walked into the kitchen and found him in bed with £300 of cash... Thankfully I got in there before the shredding had commenced (Luke doesn't leave his wallet on the work surface anymore...)

7. He once pooped on Leo's pillow...

8. He once ate my sisters Biology coursework... The dog really did eat her homework.

9. He once ran away from Luke on a walk and decided to go swimming in the marsh... it took him an hour (and my help...) to get him back.

10. He made a hole in our laminate floor, so I taped down a mat (which he later ripped up and destroyed as I watched and protested over his pet cam). I walked around B&M Bargains like a mad lady shouting at her phone.... I haven't dared go back in since...

Still want a puppy?

The ideal car for a dog?

I have been thinking about getting a new car for a while now, and with the addition of our spotty dog Lux, the practicality of keeping a Mini Convertible seemed slim to none. Imagine if you will, one rather large Dalmatian, riding around in luxury on my leather seats, if you have ever driven a Mini yourself, you will appreciate that the back seats and front seats are almost one and the same, which for me meant that Lux would occasionally seize the opportunity to lay one massive kiss on my face (not ideal when A. it is completely unexpected, and B. you are trying your darndest to not crash....).

These realisations pretty much sealed my little Mini's fate, and it dawned on me that for the first time in my life I actually needed a 'grown up' car. My mind started pondering what that meant, I didn't want anything too big... But at the same time I needed the additional space, and that really only left me with an estate as an option. Along with the space factor, I wanted something that was economic and cheap to run, something that had little to no road tax (after the Mini crippled me at £305 a year!).

That's when I discovered the Skoda Fabia Estate and found a rather good deal for one not to far from me. The Skoda is only a 1.2 engine (where as the Mini was a 1.6 Turbo Cooper S!), it cosrs absolutely nothing in road tax each year and I have discovered that a full tank is under £50 (and let me tell you that it can go for miles upon miles with its Diesel consumption!).

Along with the money saving aspects of this car, I have also gained the space I need for that rather hefty puppy of mine (no more face licks as I cruise along...). Lux is now confined to the boot of the car and kept there thanks to the dog guard I purchased.

I am currently in the process of dog proofing my entire car. I want to get a boot liner so that if we take Lux out for a walk and he get's filthy, it won't matter so much when we have to get him back in the car, and not to mention how much Lux sheds, Dalmatian dog hair is always falling out, and it can be rather difficult to clean up (it took me HOURS and a whole roll of sellotape to rid the Mini of dog hair...), so I am thinking of getting seat covers as well even though Lux won't be in the main part of the car (dog hair finds it's way EVERYWHERE).

I have found some great Pets At Home Discount Cards over on Voucher Slug that I am going to be making the most of, because it's going to cost me a pretty penny to kit the car out with everything that I need to Lux proof it.

I may have lost a substantial amount of power with my car upgrade (I can tell you that picking it up and driving it around was a shock to the system when I was putting the pedal to the floor and only just managing to find the speed to overtake cars!), but I am really pleased with just how practical my little estate is, and it's just in time for Summer!

I cannot wait to pack the pup and Leo into the car and just taking a drive to the beach with them both. I want to try and find a dog friendly holiday within the UK over the Summer break, it will be so lovely to go away as an entire family (this of course includes Lux), make some memories and explore the treasures hidden within England.

The Panasonic Pet Monitoring Kit Review

As regular readers will know, Several months ago we brought home our spotty dog Lux, and what an adventure that has been! People told me so many times how much harder puppies were than babies, and I shrugged it off thinking that these people were crazy. I quickly realised in the weeks and months that followed though... That they were absolutely, 100%, completely and utterly right, and boy how it pained me to agree with them. 

Lux is a whirlwind, he strikes like lightning (but not in the sense that lighting doesn't strike twice.. Because it does...In fact he strikes at every given opportunity.), and he always, always, always keeps us on our toes. The kitchen work surfaces are bare, and there is nothing left within paws reach, and as he has grown the parameters for this have also grown. If it can be pawed then it's fair game. We have lost letters, tea bags, dinner and even money to that puppy of ours.

If it can be reached, it can be shredded and destroyed beyond recognition. Not long after we moved into the house I waked into the kitchen and found Lux curled up with Luke's phone and around £300 of cach casually draped around him. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and very quickly picked it all up before the cash became the latest shred victim. Then there was that time he ran off with an entire box of eggs into the garden and smashed them all up just for fun... I was impressed that he managed to get the box down with all of the eggs all in one piece though...

I very quickly felt like I needed an extra pair of hands, not to mention another set of eyes. You can't be around your dog 24/7, and although I am at home with Lux the majority of the time, I do have to work and there are times I need to leave the house without a cheeky dog in tow, and even when I am working in the next room, I can hear mischief unfolding in the kitchen as I try to knuckle down with my to do list... It means stopping, wandering through to the kitchen to see exactly what he is up to. 

Then I heard about pet cams, devices that you can use to remotely check in on your pets. This got me really excited because it meant that I could keep an eye on Lux even if I had to pop out for a little while. Our general rule of thumb is that we walk Lux first thing in the morning, especially if we are having to go anywhere that day. 

A happy dog is a tired dog after all. 

We have been testing the Panasonic Pet Monitoring Kit over the last couple of months, and I have to say what a blessing it is.

The home monitoring kit comes with everything that you need to be able to oversee your entire home, and that means keeping a check on your pets.

It comes with:

- Smart Hub
- Indoor Camera
- Door Sensor
- Smart Plug
- Micro SD Card

Set Up

It was just a case of downloading the Panasonic Home Network app to my iPhone, plugging in the hub and going through the app screen instructions to connect the device.

I found it very easy to get everything set up and it didn't take very long at all, and when I did this I was actually feeling a little bit stressed due to discovering we had received a complaint from our local council about Lux. The complaint was a noise issue and speculated that Lux was barking too much. I found this very hard to believe as I work from home, he get's the walks he needs and he is pretty quiet. So while I was busy setting up our Panasonic Pet Monitoring System, I was hoping this might help me relaxed more about it all.

How we have got on with the Panasonic Pet Monitoring Kit

For the first few weeks we didn't leave Lux at all, because although I was sure that he slept while we were out, I was just too worried to leave him in case another complaint was lodged against him. I was terrified that the complaints would keep being made and the situation would escalate. In true Laura style, I over compensated. I stopped working from home and started working from the parents house instead, that way if any complaints were made... We would have removed ourselves from the scenario and it wouldn't be Lux taking the blame.

It took me a while to feel like I could leave Lux home alone again, especially since I didn't know the nature of the complaint. Was the issue inside the house? Outside? Day? Night? I just didn't know because the details that had been provided to me by the council were very thin on details, and this just made me worry more. I felt very disappointed that whoever had made the complaint had gone straight over my head. I like to think I am an approachable person, and more importantly an approachable neighbor, but instead of talking to me directly about whatever their issue was, so that I could address it head on and know exactly what I was dealing with, they went straight over my head.

We started using the pet cam right away, it was brilliant to be able to keep an eye on Lux while we were in other areas of the house. If I was putting Leo to be and I heard a noise, I could quickly see what Lux was up to and if he did start making a noise, I could intervene and get him to stop as quickly as he started. This is what I mean by over compensating, any noise Lux made, put me on edge. I felt like I was walking on eggshells in my own home all of the time.

When I finally plucked up the courage to leave Lux at home for an hour, I pretty much kept the video feed open the entire time. As I expected, Lux slept while we were out and was so well behaved. I was really thankful to have the video and sound to put my mind at rest while I wasn't at home. I was even keeping a dog diary so that if there was an issue, I could know where we were during that specified time. I took some screen shot of Lux sleeping to back this up on my phone, the amazing thing is that you can use the included SD Card within the home hub to take pictures and videos. At this point I hadn't got it all set up the way I needed it to be to do so.

I have since spoken the council in regards to Lux, and they confirmed that issue was apparently outside, and this to me still seems odd, as Lux is never left outside alone.. But still that was a much more attractive answer than the issue being Lux within the home.

Using the Panasonic Pet Monitor

Having the monitoring system has been such a help to me over the last couple of months, it has helped me find the confidence to be able to leave Lux home alone again. Last week Luke and I went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, which is almost 2 hours from us here in Worcestershire. I walked Lux in the morning to make him suitably sleepy, and then we hopped in the car and away we went.

We were gone from 1:30 that afternoon until 9pm that evening, and I really don't like leaving Lux home alone, so being able to check in on him even though we were a long way from home was really reassuring. Every time I checked Lux was still asleep, and he stayed that way until we arrived home.

Not only can you see your pet on the monitor (even if it is dark!) you can also use the microphone to talk to your pet! I am constantly using this feature to tell Lux to 'Get down' 'Stop' and 'No'. The first time he looked baffled and was searching the room for my voice, now he's just like ' Great... They are watching me again! Busted!'.

What we think of the Panasonic Pet Monitor

I absolutely love this piece of tech, being able to check in even when you are away from home is just the most amazing thing, I cannot put a price on the re-assurance that has been provided through the use of the cam and app, and it has definitely made me feel more confident about leaving him in the circumstances that he cannot come with us.

So many friends and family have seen me checking in and seeing what Lux is up to, they have been amazed that I can see what he is up to even when we are not home, and it is something that is really special.

The video footage provided is brilliant, it stays up to date and doesn't lag which really helps make the experience.

Would I recommend the Panasonic Pet Monitor? YES, yes I would definitely recommend this fabulous piece of equipment and I would not be without it now.

The Panasonic Pet Monitor retails at £199.99.

Disclaimer: I was provided with the Panasonic Pet Monitor in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.  

Longing for Summer

I have some fond memories with Leo out scooting around during the summer months, and I have to say that I am now longing for the warmer days to come back around. We have so much to look forward to this summer, and I can't wait to make the very most of those sunny days, especially now we are in our own space and can get the paddling pool out and indulge in a BBQ.

That little man of mine loves a challenge, it was only back in the summer that he hopped on a neighbours bike (minus the stabilisers I hasten to add) and just took off! Leo had never even shown an interest in having the stabilisers off his bike, so I think him taking to it so naturally was as much a shock for him as it was for me!

Now we have Lux I am always looking for new innovative ways to get Leo to come along on the walks with us, those of you who are familiar with this here blog will know that Lux is a cheeky Dalmatian Puppy, and even though he is only 7 months old, he's bigger than most fully grown dogs, and he has the energy to match his height! Walks and lots of exercise are an essential part of his day to day life (and mine, I happen to like what is left of my sanity!), and getting Leo to come along with me is often easier said than done.

It was easier back in the Summer when it was nice and warm, Leo would happily come out on his scooter or hop on his bike. Now that it's as cold as it is, he often cannot be persuaded to leave the comfort of the heated house. I have promised Leo that when winter is over, I will treat him to a pair of Proline Skates. I loved mine as a child, and when I was a little bit older my Dad got himself a pair of rollerblades and we used to skate around together which was always a good giggle.

January seems to be dragging it's feet in the ground now, and I for one am going to be happy to see the month transition into February. February always seems to have a little bit more going for it, and it's another month closer to Spring of course! 

We have just booked a big family holiday to Crete and to say I am excited doesn't quite cover the anticipation. It's going to be a beautiful week spent under the warm Greek sun, and I intend to make the most of it. I am going to have a look at the local excursions and see if there is anything that ticks the boxes for Luke, Leo and myself, we did so much while we were in Tunisia a few years ago, Leo even got to go on an off road quad bike adventure! 

So Winter your time is officially being called, you may continue to freeze my car each morning, you may make my hands numb and my cheeks blush, but in a few short months it's going to start getting warmer, and I won't be sorry to see the back of your chill.

The Puppy Days - 6 Months Old

Where do I start on Lux this month? 

He might very well be on Santa's naughty list. 

One morning last week he had been exceptionally quiet, I was in my office trying to make a head start on my to do list... So I went in to inspect and see what he was up to. He had taken my handbag off the work surface, emptied it. Killed my bobble hat (The bobble is what you can see scattered all over the floor...), of course he thought he was hilarious, and to be honest I couldn't help but smile when I saw the sense of satisfaction that wiped over his entire face.

That might be the least naughty thing he has done though, and the contender for top naughty moment of the month has to be when I took him into Broadway village centre for the late night shopping. They have lot's of things going on in the street so we thought it would be nice to enjoy a stroll around the beautiful Cotswold Village with a mulled wine in hand. Of course Lux had other ideas and began following his nose as soon as we arrived. At one point I thought he was going to jump the wall to the open BBQ and take me with him... but the best was yet to come. It was on our way back to the car after he had pulled me around like a train carriage for the course of the evening, when he managed to loosen his lead and jump up at an elderly lady who was enjoying her festive mince pie!

Of course I pulled him straight back down and apolagised profusely to this poor lady (who thankfully had the grace to see the humour of the situation and my giant puppy trying to steal her snack), and made a dash for the car! I get the feeling we are no longer welcome in the Cotswold's.... Thanks Lux.

The following day we took him for a nice long walk up Breden Hill, and thankfully he was on his best behaviour.

It's as almost as though this month he has regressed, he has become more mouthy again and he doesn't seem to be able to calm down and relax in the same room with us, yet as soon as you put him back in the kitchen for time out he will drift off to sleep, which I hate as I want him to be back to normal so that he can fall asleep on the sofa around us all.

Last month Rosewood sent Lux a beautiful new bed because he outgrew his initial bed within a month of us bringing him home, so he had some blankets on the floor in the kitchen, of course now it is getting colder we wanted something a little bit more substantial for him to keep him off the cold floor. 

He has spent the last month sleeping on the Chocolate Tweed Mattress, at 6 months he is a big dog, and this bed is the absolute perfect size for him. When we first gave it to him he announced his attraction by peeing on it... Whoever say's Dog's don't pee where they sleep, well they are lying. Because they do. I took it away and washed the cover before giving it back to him, I didn't want the kitchen being stunk out by my naughty pup who knows exactly where he's allowed to urinate, and exactly where he is not. 

Thankfully this was the only time he has done that, but he has recently taken to biting and pulling his lovely bed around, and I am now forever picking up fluff he has gauged out. I don't think the boy realises just how good he has it! 

It really is a lovely bed, it's thick, soft and really well padded. I have been really thankful for how easy it is to whip the cover off (there's a zip) and get it in the wash ready to go back to him nice and fresh again.

A toy that has been a real hit this month with Lux is the Catch & Flash Ball from Rosewood, you can see it in the above video clip after Lux stops throwing his bed around the room. It's a nice solid ball that Lux loves to chew on, I can hear him bouncing it around the kitchen as I type this so it would seem his nap is now over... It's great to keep him entertained for a while, even at night time when we have all gone to bed, because it flashes it means that he can even play with it in the dark!

I haven't really talked much about Lux's diet before now, but I thought this would be an interesting time to bring it up. You may or may not be aware that Dalmatians have specific breed problems (doesn't every breed!?), some Dalmatian's can be born deaf, this is a common occurrence, but not the end of the world, but all Dalmatians carry a genetic mutation that alters the way in which they metabolize and excrete purines. Purines are found in many different foods and this is especially true with meat. 

- Normally purines would be broken down like this:

- Purines are converted to hypoxanthine.

- Hypoxanthine is converted to xanthine.

- Xanthine is converted to uric acid.

- Uric acid is converted to allantoin, which is excreted in the urine.

It is safe to say that every Dalmatian cannot perform this final step 'Uric acid is converted to allantoin, which is excreted in the urine.' which means that their urine contains a high level of uric acid. Not every Dalmatian will go on to form urate stones, but it is always a possibility which means that Dalmatian owners need to be educated in what their dogs can and cannot eat. 

We feed Lux a low purine raw diet, I haven't actually bought a pack of dog food since we brought him home. Instead I follow the traffic light system, foods high in purines like Beef, Oily Fish, Game Meats and so on.

So what do we feed?

Instead we feed a raw diet of Turkey Mince, Turkey Necks, Chicken and bones, we would feed this along side things like:

- Egg

- Pasta

- Rice

- Oats

- Low Purine Vegetables like Broccoli and Carrot 

This way I know exactly what Lux is eating, and I know that we are avoiding any high purine foods that could potentially lead us into problems later on. I float all of his meals with water so that I am constantly flushing him through, and I make sure that he always has fresh water to drink throughout the day and night. Another important aspect is always providing him opportunities to go outside and have a pee (as I do get a lot of water into him!).

A lot of people recommended Advance Dog Food to us when we first picked him up, but we have got on really well with the raw feeding, and Lux absolutely loves it.  We have 3 dog bowls laid out in the kitchen, we have 2 open bowls, one that has water in, the other that we would put all of his meat and bone, and the third is a Fellipet Kaleido Manners Bowl - We put cottage cheese with his vegetables and rice in this bowl, the idea is that the paw print in the middle acts as an anti-scoff feature. This has been working a treat with Lux, as he usually only takes a minute or two to devour whatever is in front of him, it is really nice to watch him start taking his time. 

The Puppy Days: Growing up

Rosewood Luxury Leather Soft Touch Red Leash and Collar

Guess who has been doing a lot of growing since my last post? Lux. The rate in which this boy is growing up is just astounding, and he is now proudly reaching the work tops and all of the things that I have had to keep pushing back. My Mum had him for the day the other week for me, and it was around the time of my brother's birthday so there was of course cake in the house. When I came to pick him up, Lux was very quiet... The kind of quiet where you know he is up to something before you even see him...

I walked into the kitchen and there he was licking the cake board clean, as the there was no cake on the board I left him occupied and asked my Mum whether there was any cake left... She excitedly told me that if I wanted a slice of cake then it was on the cake board in the kitchen... It was round about here that I dropped the cake bomb on her and told her that if there had been cake left, then Lux had polished it all off while he was in the kitchen. She couldn't believe it because she had pushed it so far back, but the devious puppy of mine had persuaded it onto the floor with those long paws of his.

I really feel that we have bonded now, he really is my dog. He loves a cuddle and is well and truly a large lapdog (Which I wouldn't have any other way). Training wise he is doing great in the house, and we have even managed to get him to sit and wait for food, which if someone had told me was a possibility a few months ago, I would have laughed whole heartedly in their face! 

We haven't been to the puppy training class I picked out for a good few weeks now, I didn't feel that her set up was working for us. She didn't want the puppies mixing at all, which to me just seemed odd because surely getting them socialized is a rather important factor. The last time we went along she gave everyone homework at the end of the session, she got to Lux and I and said 'Well Laura... You just get through the week!'. I was pretty stunned in all honesty, how is that constructive? I was there with my cheeky pup wanting to learn. 

I am looking at a couple of our other local training facilities and plan on going else where. I think to start with we will be better off inside to get the basics and then progress it outdoors. Lux is a completely different character inside in comparison to outside. Indoors he will listen and for the most part comply, outside you might as well just be talking to your self because he will literally put his nose to the floor and go off on his own, dragging you along in his wake. 

Lux pulls like a train, we are doing lots of heel work at home and while we are out and about, but so far he's still pulling like he's dragging me along on a sleigh. He is a coach dog after all, so pulling and sniffing are all completely within his nature and breed. I am looking at no pull harnesses at the moment, as a traditional lead and collar is proving to be a real full body work out, and every so often he completely catches me off guard and I find myself hurtling away in the direction of his choosing. I am hoping that a no pull harness will be a way to correct the behavior before he gets even bigger.

We have had such a lovely month, and now he is getting bigger we have been able to venture that little bit further with him. I am still taking things slowly with him, but we have been starting to do some alternate walks/jogs where we speed up for a little and then slow it back down again. Lux loves this, and when he runs along side me that pull disappears (I guess because he is going at the speed he wants!), we have been trying out Lishinu which is a really cool hands free retractable leash! You strap it to your wrist using the velcro and then your good to go. It's absolutely fantastic if you enjoy running with your dog, as Lux pulls it's not something I have been using in replacement of our usual lead on the walks that take us along the side of roads, but when we have been out in the field or on the walk we took up Bredon Hill it has given us a lot more flexibility.

Lux seems to really enjoy the Lishinu as it gives him more flexibility to roam around. We had such a great walk on Bredon Hill. I drove pretty high up and parked the car so that it was not such a long way for him to go (He's still only little at 5 months old and you aren't really meant to walk them to much at this age), but he was in his element chasing leaves and enjoying the great outdoors.

As it has got so much colder recently we have been really loving his Luxury Night Bright Jacket, it's thick and fleecy on the inside and the outer body is water resistant, so it keeps him lovely and warm and even stops him getting completely soaked by the rain. I think even Lux has been thankful for this because it has come to light that he really is a princess! In a morning he sticks one paw outside as if to see whether he can brave the elements or not, if it's wet he recoils back inside! I have to physically pick him up and put him outside in order to insist he goes for a wee! 

I had to giggle though, during our last session with the trainer. She asked me why Lux was wearing a coat, which to be honest I thought was a pretty stupid question. Why does anyone wear a coat? Usually because they are cold right? So I reminded her how cold the weather was now, I pointed out that Lux also has very short fur and that if she thought thus was weird, she should wait until I purchase his Winter Jumper! She pretty much told me I need to tougen him up, but I don't really think I do. He's a domesticated dog, he lives in a house, and there's absolutely no need to toughen him up. He's with a family who love him and want him to be comfortable in every weather and eventuality.

Lux finally grew out of his dog bed this month, so we need to add that to the purchase list for this month as he's currently sleeping on a blanket in the kitchen and now it is getting colder, I want to ensure he will be warm enough through the night.

I wonder how much growing he will do over the next month? One thing is for sure, he is going to be a giant!

Settling Your New Puppy In

Bringing a new puppy home is a big event. Getting it right is important because it has a big impact on how well your dog will settle in, and get on with the family.

Get everything ready

The first step is to go out and buy everything you need for your new puppy. If you get yours from somewhere like Douglas Hall Kennels Scotland they will give you a comprehensive list of what you need. It is wise to get it all, and set everything up. The last thing you need to be doing is rushing out to get a bed for him or her, on the day they arrive.

You want everything to be as calm as possible for the first few days. The last thing a puppy needs is stressed out owners. They are going to be a little frightened and tense as it is, so it is best if you are not on edge as well. You need to radiate calm to help them to feel safe, and settle in as fast as possible.

Picking your dog up

When you pick your puppy up take someone with you. That way they can get in the back and keep the dog happy and safe. In some countries, the law requires you to put up a net between yourself and your dog, so he or she stays in the back and does not get in the way of the driver. If this is a requirement where you live, it is wise to set up the net before you go to pick up your pup.

You will also need a blanket for your puppy to sit on. Remember they do not have proper control over their bladder and bowels, so you will need to protect your back seat.

If you can, pick your new dog up in the morning. That way they will have the whole day to get used to you and their new surroundings.

When you arrive

Try to make the arrival of your puppy as calm as possible. The natural reaction is for everyone to rush out and greet the new pet. This is understandable, but if this happens, your pup is likely to feel overwhelmed.

A better approach is to take him or her straight through to the garden. This is a fun environment for them, and gives them a chance to relieve themselves.

Reward him or her with a treat as soon as they have gone to the toilet. Doing this sets the tone, and gives you a jump on the housetraining process. Once they have had a few minutes in the garden let everyone come up and introduce themselves to the dog, one by one.

Let your puppy explore, but in a supervised way. Make sure someone is watching them all the time to keep them out of trouble.

The first night

Put your puppy into its own bed, and go to yours. If they cry, it is kinder to move their bed to your room.

However, make sure he or she stays in their own bed. If they whine calm them with your voice, but do not touch them. Later, when your puppy is more confident you can move their bed out of your room, if you want to.

If you have other pets, you will find this article helpful, as well. There you will learn the safe way to introduce a new puppy to your resident dogs and cats.

The Puppy Days: Settling In

We have had Lux at home with us well over a month now, and that time has literally flown. It feels like we have always had him, like he has always had a place in this crazy little family unit. That might be because he has literally doubled in size in the last month and  his spots have become even more prominent! Lux is absolutely beautiful and were already so in love with him, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is meant to be with us.

Leo and Lux have a relationship forming everyday, and although it usually consists with the arguing and play fighting that usually occurs between two siblings, the love they share for one another is something that you would have to be blind not to see. Lux will lick Leo all over, and it was just last night that Leo's hair was sodden from all of the puppy kisses that Lux had bestowed upon him. 

Lux sleeps in the kitchen at night, and if I am busy running about I will put Lux in the kitchen so he can't cause any mischief (believe me when I say that he is ALWAYS up to no good!), and now when I open the kitchen door to come and put some more washing on, or take the wet washing out to hang on the line, Lux seizes the opportunity to bolt out of the kitchen and up the stairs to where a sleeping Leo is sound asleep. The arrival of the dog will usually be lots of licks and nibbles, but sometimes he will just sit quietly at the end of the bed and keep guard over his little human.

We have just moved house and Leo's new bed hasn't been delivered just yet....

Of course I always bring him back downstairs, much to Leo's disappointment as he would love for Lux to sleep on his bed, but I want Lux to realise that his bed is in the kitchen and I don't want him to grow accustomed to needing to be with us 24/7. We actually recently moved into our new home, and that first night there with Lux was difficult. I put him in the kitchen with his bed, made sure that he had absolutely everything that he needed and then took myself upstairs. Lux proceeded to cry and howl for half an hour. I sat at the top of the stairs contemplating what to do, thinking of the neighbours next door and looking at the clock. It was gone 11pm. The longer I sat there the louder Lux got, and I knew that if I moved and went to see him now I was setting the precident for how things would be going forward. So I sat there and waited it out and then all of a sudden he just went quiet, and that was him asleep for the night. Each night the crying got less and less and now he goes to sleep with no crying at all. 

It's hasn't all been easy, and  it's definitely not been a walk in the park. I have discovered first hand just how much hard work puppies can be (if there was any chance of me considering a second... I no longer am!), I didn't enter into this lightly though and knew from the get go that I was going to have my hands full, what caught me off guard more than I ever expected is the puppy nipping. I have never had a puppy before so I wasn't sure how much or how little was the norm for this type of thing, and whether the level of Lux's biting was down to his breed or because he was just being naughty. I have been really lucky in the sense that I found a group on Facebook with thousands of other Dalmatian owners, and they have been incredible with all of their advice and support. Turns out Lux is just your typical Dalmatian puppy and although this phase has seemed pretty hard, it will soon pass as long as I keep demonstrating the consistency when dealing with it. When Lux gets too over excited and starts nipping, I have been letting him know that we don't appreciate this behavior by either removing him from the situation for a time out, or yelping loudly and gently pinning him just like another puppy or dog would do. 

Lux has been the ultimate celebrity with friends and family, they have all made the effort to come and see him, but when they were expecting to come and see the cute, sleepy puppy, they have soon had their illusions shattered after they have come face to face with the playful pup that I have been tempted to rename Jaws *Insert Dun Dun, Dun Dun tune here*. 

Lux does seem to be responding to these tactics that we have been implementing with him slowly but surely, and although he still nips, he seems to be learning how to control his bite. Ultimately the idea is that we teach him to bite gently at the beginning and then remove the behavior all together. 

Lux's jabs have now all been completed and we can head outside for short walks which has been incredibly lovely. Where we now live is right next to a beautiful camp site with a massive field including a short woodland walk, and we are lucky enough to be allowed access with Lux to enjoy the land. I had never really considered just how social dog walking was, but in the weeks that we have been outside with Lux, I have met so many incredible and interesting people who I would never have been able to get talking to if I wasn't one of their fellow dog walkers. 

Rosewood Pets Soft Touch Red Collar and Lead

As you don't see many Dalmatian's around, Lux is always a topic of conversation and it really is as though I am walking around with a celebrity at the end of my leash. Of course Lux laps up all of the attention and has been absolutely loving meeting all of the other dogs. He has gone from being over cautious and his tail falling between his legs, to bounding about and wanting every other dog to play with him, I have quickly learned that Lux is quite a dominant personality and we are definitely going to have to get those puppy classes booked in sooner rather than later! 

We have been walking Lux on a collar and lead to start with, but because he pulls so much (imagine Marley and Me, then double that image!) we are going to switch to a harness. Rosewood Pets sent us over a lovely one that is too big for us to use right now, but I know that at the rate Lux is growing, it's only a matter of weeks before he's in it securely! 

As I sit and write this Lux is sat at my feet and undoing my shoe laces with his teeth, he knows it's almost time for us to go on a walk. Today we are going to take a stroll into Evesham and enjoy Lux's first walk by the river.

Hello September

The summer has been an incredibly busy time for Leo and I, the reception year passed in the mere blink of an eye and before we knew it we were hurtling towards the 6 weeks holiday. You may have noticed a few tumble weeds around the blog over the last few months, and that is because we have literally been on fast forward since the school bell rang on the last day of the Summer term.

If I thought that the Summer break was going to be a relaxing time, then I hope I can be forgiven for at least hoping for a few quiet weeks... Or even days for that matter. You see over the Summer holiday we got a puppy, moved house, Leo learned to ride his bike without stabilizers and we even attended a wedding!

In that order...

When I write it down in short bursts like that, it doesn't sound like we did all that much, but the move alone has completely knocked me for six. Don't get me wrong I am absolutely in love with our new home, I feel so incredibly lucky, and I finally feel like I can give Leo the space and time that he needs in order to flourish to his full potential. What I didn't anticipate was just how much time and money I was going to have to throw at the move, of course I had put some savings behind us because a move is always costly, but I had no idea just how expensive carpeting an entire house would be!

We had to work around the carpet fitter, and slowly but surely started to bring our worldly belongings over to our new home. It was so surreal packing our entire lives into boxes and black plastic bags, but thankfully as I had begun getting everything we needed together months before the move actually happened, I could pretty much get the kitchen up and running as soon as we had the keys! It was the other rooms I had to wait a little longer on. 

We are now in the house and it's all starting to feel a lot more like home, I still have lot's of work to do to my room as I am currently without a wardrobe, but it's not the end of the world. Leo's room is starting to take shape and the rest of the house is pretty much there, all I need to do now is add those essential finishing touches.

I am beginning to put together a home decor series that will be hitting the blog in the coming weeks ahead, I am just waiting on sorting a few last minute bits and pieces. My bedroom is still in utter chaos and will be until I can find the pennies to put a wardrobe in there!

It has to be said though, moving house with a puppy has been...interesting. Having Lux is like living with a naughty toddler who will not listen to anything that you say and is constantly hunting out mischief that quite honestly just seems to come oh so naturally to him, we wouldn't change him for the world though. He has spent his time un-packing boxes, taking the television remotes out into the garden, chewing all of our shoes and being a general pain in the bum, but it's been lovely seeing him settle in so well with us, and Leo is absolutely besotted with his pup! (I will be sharing a full month pupdate in the next week or so!)

The summer brought with it a new milestone and Leo lost his very first tooth. It was a funny turn of events because I just did not see it coming. One morning while I was brushing little man's teeth, his entire tooth just moved with the brush, to say it caught me off guard would be the understatement of the year, and of course my shock in turn scared Leo, who proceeded to smack me over the head in a panic. I soothed him right away, we had already talked about how it would start happening soon, and that it was of course nothing to worry about. 

Leo did not touch that tooth and it hung on by a thread for weeks, until the morning of August 2nd while Leo was eating his cornflakes it came away and was swallowed into the depths of his tummy, gone forever. I have to admit I was slightly disappointed as I had been planning on keeping his first tooth, just like I had his very first curl. We decided to write a letter to the toothfairy and let her know the fate of Leo's first tooth, and thankfully she took pity on us and left Leo a £1 coin along with a letter under his pillow.

Loosing one tooth over the holiday didn't seem to suffice for Leo however, and a couple of day's before the return to school, we discovered he had a second wobbly tooth! This time Leo didn't leave it alone, he wobbled it day and night. He wobbled it through my brother's wedding, even allowing his little cousin to give it a wobble too... Of course he waited until the night before he went back to school to pull it out. He had been in bed and asleep for hours, but at just gone 11pm Leo burst into the living room to announce that his tooth had fallen out and we needed to get it under his pillow as soon as possible!

The poor old toothfairy was caught so far off her guard that she had no spare change whats so ever. Instead... She placed a £5.00 note under his pillow. Here's hoping Leo doesn't expect this for each and every tooth!

If loosing teeth wasn't a sure enough sign that my little boy is growing ever bigger, then him suddenly hopping on a neighbors bike (without stabilizers) certainly told me! I was so worried and told him over and over to be careful. Of course he quickly brushed my concern off and pretty much told me to relax. In fact his exact words were these 'Mummy I bet I can ride without stabilizers! Watch!' and so I did... and he was right. Without any practice or guidance from myself or his Daddy, Leo took off on a bike without any assistance at all.

I couldn't help chuckling to myself as all the global delay comments trickled to the forefront of my mind during this proud moment, because when that boy sets his mind to something, you best believe he is going to smash it!

It is for this very reason I have made a pact with Leo in regards to his learning, and that pact is this. If Leo co-operates with me and tries his hardest, I will buy him the biggest Nerf Gun I can find when he learns to read. Now this is an especially big deal because I have always told him that he will never own a Nerf Gun, but it's something that he has desperately wanted for such a long time, and the greatest incentive I could ever offer him. Leo has been back at school for one whole week now, and he has read to me each and every afternoon without any objections and he has been really giving it his all.

So here we are at the start of Autumn, and here I am back behind the laptop catching up on all of my emails and the posts that I can't wait to write, and it's time to start smashing all of Leo's goals and give the teachers something to talk about!