Lately: Introducing Polly
It’s been one of those weeks (and we’re not quite done yet). Nothing serious, just annoying things that are making me not enjoy August very much. Then my phone died yesterday. Despite trying to play it cool, I’m a little bit stressed about this. It’s all fixable of course but why does it all happen at once? Money tree anyone? Anyway, I mustn’t grumble (looks at positive things to do) as there’s been good things happening too…
Meet Polly, our new family member! She’s a 6 week old Golden Retriever from a litter of 11 happy puppies and we’ll be bringing her home in 2 weeks or so. Oh my!
Long time readers will know we’ve wanted a dog for a long time, especially after looking after the family Golden Retriever, Candy. It wasn’t until we moved house and were both settled at work that we could contemplate it and make it a reality, and now it is. She’s adorable.
So, the next few weeks will be spent puppy proofing the house (the breeder says she’s partial to shoes…) and asking lots of questions to all the dog owners I know. Are you one? Any tips or advice? Help!
P.S In case you were wondering, her name is inspired by the awesome PJ Harvey. There had to be a music or film reference in there somewhere otherwise it would have been Lady Barkington, as suggested by the OH. Ahem.
♥
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15 Comments
Katy
HELLO POLLY! What a stunner. I can’t wait to meet her! xx
Cathy
When I brought Prudy home, we had loads of advice (“you must buy a crate” / “let her cry at night or she’ll rely on your presence”) and honestly, it all did more harm than good for her. We wasted ages trying to do what all the ‘advice’ said and it wasn’t right for her. So my biggest piece of advice is, non-advice: Do what feels natural, what Polly needs, just ‘be’ as a new family.
The only other thing I have to impart is something that changed my life and Prudy’s, and that’s to read the Dog Whisperer books by Cesar Milan (he also has a TV show, there’s loads on YouTube). His philosophy is simple; be the pack leader. Calm, assertive, present energy with rules, boundaries and limitations and you will have a calm and balanced dog who will always follow you. It turned Prudy’s life around when she had such a terrible start in life, and had a big impact on me too. I’m not a fan of clicking/treating, it just creates a reliance on food/doing it for the food not for *you*.
Good luck, Eee, I’m so jealous!
Lisa
Thanks so much for that Cathy. I will definitely check out Cesar Milan, I’m surprised I’ve not spotted it on YouTube as I’ve been watching dog stuff for weeks! We are planning on crate training but I will see how she gets on. If it’s not right for her, it’s not right!
Jeska
Hello Polly! I am sorry you August has not got off to a good start. Something tells me, this little ball of fun will melt all the stress away when she arrives home with you 🙂 xxx
Lisa
I think you might be right! x
Sophie
CUTIE!!
Big hugs, hope your August picks up my dear x xx
Lisa
Thanks chuck 🙂
Leanne
Oh she is so cute! What exciting news. 🙂 Sorry to hear things have been annoying, but focus on Polly and all the joy she is going to bring you. Having a pet is the best; I’m a cat owner, so it’s a different bag, but when Freds arrived with us at 7 weeks I focused on socialising him – having people over as much as possible and cuddling him non-stop. It definitely made him into the cat I always wanted. Hope that’s helpful advice. 🙂 xx
Lisa
Thanks for the advice Leanne. I’m definitely going to make sure socialising starts from the offset. I have a feeling we’ll be getting more guests than usual : )
Sue
Hi Polly! I look forward to lots of puppy spamming on IG!
Lisa
There will be lots of that!
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Sally A
Hi, we have a 3 yr old black lab who I love dearly, but despite Puppy classes (which I would do again) she is not sociable at all. Unfortunately when we got her my Mum was really ill so she didn’t get socialized/cuddled enough. She wasn’t a cuddly puppy and although she’s getting more touchy feely it’s taken a while, so cuddle her!!!
Buy cheap toys/beds as she’ll rip them to shreds – we went through 6 beds before she stopped chewing them if you left her for any length of time.
Biggest piece of advice is just have fun with her. Can’t wait to see her grow.
Lisa
Thank you Sally! Yes, cheap beds/toys are coming through the letterbox daily and socialisation is one of our main priorities as we have lots of visitors so want to make sure she is cool with humans and hounds. She won’t be short of cuddles I’m sure! Thank you for taking the time to give advice! x