Doodle Weekend

Doodle Day!!!

What can i say about doodle day AMAZING!!! We all loved every minute of it. We stayed at Porlock carvan and camp site which was lovely, we stayed in the rally field which had sea views and the facilites were great. 

Saturday

On Saturday night we went and met some doodles in the Top Ship Inn in Porlock the food was great, to be introduced to everyone. Alfie's brothers and sisters and their mummy's and daddy's were lovely, everyone was so friendly it was like we had already met. It was so nice to be able to talk to them about Goldendoodles as most of the people we know  have labradoodles. 

Alfie waiting to meet his family

Casey is from the same litter as Alfie but is Smaller than him.

This is Merlin, Alfie's older brother from 2012 litter they also have a blog http://merlinthedoodle.wordpress.com/ which is one of the blogs I looked at before having Alfie. Merlin is a lot smaller than Alfie.

Sunday 

On Sunday we went for along but very lovely walk by a river up Exmoor. They were all off the leads and and it was amazing watching Alfie run, go paddling in the river and chase his brothers and sister and I was amazed he never went to far from us. The best thing I did was to  put on his bandanna on so I could keep track of him, in the sea of doodles.

Then to finish of this brilliant day we had a Doodle Party with different event that the doodles and there families could join in on. Alfie when in for the scruffiest Doodle but he didn't win which in away is a good thing, there was a games for just the men the best 6 legs where they get judges on their legs, tunnel race and whistle sit for the children. It was such a good day.

Mary going about to attempt the Tunnel race.

What an amazing weekend we had, we all lovely every minute of it. Just want to say a huge thank you to Mary for organising this day and we can wait for next year when we can meet up again.

Thank you for reading please leave a comment below as I love to read them.

Vicky xx

Alfie's first holiday camping :)

Summer holiday!! 

Well Alfie went on his first holiday in a tent the other weekend and what fun he had. Before we went we put the tent up in the garden so Alfie could get use to what it looked and smelled like. I thought he would find it a bit daunting as it is quite big but just like Alfie he wasn't bothered. We went in side snifter it and that was it. We left it up so he could get use to it. 

As we have never been camping with a dog before, we found it hard to find a space for Alfie to sit. We though we would have enough room as we were only going for the week. Oh no the car was full and poor Alfie only had a little room on the back seat, but he was amazing curled himself into a little ball and fell asleep. Note to self roof rack for next time or take less. :) 

Traveling down was a nightmare stuck in holiday traffic 4 hours it took :( Look at my little mans face, I no I keep saying it but he is brill, he is so patient. 

We put the tent up and put Alfie on a long line that is screwed in to the grass. Alfie loved walking around the tents and lying on the grass. 

We then went to the beach at Weston Super Mare and he went paddling in the sea and had so much fun, though he does not like the waves.

Paddling with dad

After been at the beach all day he slept the whole night till the next day. We worn him out :) 

 An evening stroll after a thunder storm which again didn't bother him head stuck his head out if the tent and watched the rain come down. I think this is down to letting him experience lots if sound and different things from such a small age and not making a big deal of things if there was a loud bang or something. 

Then back to the beach to finish off our holiday on Brean Sands. Found out that he love horse poo :( that is not so good. Alfie has started to lye down if he sees another dog walking pass, looking all cute and as soon as they get closer enough pounce at them in playful mode like come and play. Poor dog pops themselves. 

Thank you for coming to have a look at Alfie's first holiday please leave a comment at the bottom as i love to read your stories and tips about dogs.

Vicky xx

11 month old Alfie

Where has the time gone??? 

I can't believe Alfie is nearly 1 years old. 

So what has been happening in the life of Alfie over the last couple of months. Where do I begin.!! 

At the moment we are in the middle of moving house which has not been going very smoothly. 7 months down the line and we are just about to move in our new house. So Alfie has been sleeping at my mums for the last 3-4 months and occasional stays with us as we are staying at my husband's mum and dads. I must say though Alfie has been amazing, he is such a chilled out dog and seems to take it all in his stride. I am so lucky, but it is all coming to an end soon 1 more week and we can be a family again. 

Alfie is still continuing with obedience class at Kathy Bells in Stoke on Trent and is doing really well, he has just been moved in to the advance class. :) My little man is growing up to fast. After he turns 1 he will be going to fly ball class which I am so excited about, which will help him keep fit. 

Alfie has been on his first camping holiday to Weston Super Mare just for the weekend but what an amazing time we had. I will do a post with all this holiday photos. This weekend is doodle weekend  where he will be meeting his brothers and sisters. I am so excited I can't wait to see his reaction when he sees them again. So we are traveling to Porlock, Minehead way again just for the weekend and I will put up a post of what he gets up to. :) 

Look at these before and after pictures. 

6 weeks old

11 months

He is such an Amazing dog and look how handsome he is, I truly recommend a Goldendoodle to any one as his temperament is brilliant and he is so loving and not having with me fully for the last couple of months has been truly horrible. Alfie is my friend, my little man, my dogbert and I love him to bits but enough of me getting all mushy.

Thank you for reading, please leave a comment below as I love to read them. 

Vicky xx

Potty Training

Potty Training

Sorry another post I did not get around to up loading, having a puppy take so much of your time up. 

Potty Training is going really well, I can’t say we have had no accidents because we have but we were expecting that but they were really our faults, not noticing the signs and letting him wonder around the house. You need to follow him everywhere and as soon as you notice the signs, which for Alfie are to smell the floor and walk in a circle slowly, take him straight outside.

We have selected a little part of the garden for Alfie to go to the toilet and what I found that helped Alfie to go to the same place is when he had a poo we left it there so when he goes outside he goes to his little place.

When we take Alfie outside I tell him “Alfie Toilet” and when he has a wee or a poo reward him with a treats and a fuss and repeat the Positive word “Good Boy toilet good boy”. Alfie is at the point now as soon as you say toilet he will walk around for a minute and wee or poo J then we give then lots of fuss and a treat.

If your puppy is about to wee or poo in the house quickly pick him up even if he has weed a little tell him “No” and take him outside tell him toilet and if he finishes his wee outside reward him and give him lots of fuss. So he recognises if I have wee outside I get a treat. Do not scold your puppy always reward the positive behaviour.

I am not saying that my way is the right way but for Alfie it works, you do what is right for your puppy.

Thank you for reading my blog please leave a comment at the bottom as I love to read them

Vicky xx

Alfie's Routine

Alfie’s Routine

I have just found this from when I first had Alfie and I did not up loaded it. This was the routine I was trying to implement, but nothing ever goes so smoothly . 

I am trying to get him in to a routine ready for when I go back to work, so I can manage his naps and toileting.

6.30-Alfie wakes up

7.00 –Breakfast

7-10 Play time and Training

10-Walk

11-Nap time Alfie sleeps about 2 and half hours ish

1.30-Dinner

1.30-4 Play time and Training

4 –Walk

5-Nap

6.30-7ish-Tea

7-10-Play time and Training

10-Walk

11-Bed

I take him to the toilet when he wakes up after play time, about 15 minutes after he has had food and 30 minutes to an hour in between, as it depends on how much he has been drinking. This routine will change when I go back to work but I wanted Alfie to have set times in the crate so he could get use to it.

This routine won’t work for everyone, as you have to decide a routine what will work for you and your puppy and this will take time as you need to get to know your puppy, so don’t worry.

Thank you for reading my blog, please leave me a comment at the bottom as I love to read them and let me know if you have ideas about what you would like me to write about.

Vicky xx

Update about Alfie

A long time

Hey everyone I am so sorry I haven’t written anything lately but who knew that having a dog could take so much of your time. :) so this is going to be a long one I am going to tell you everything Alfie has been up in the last couple of months.

So where to begin?

Dog training

Alfie attends dog training classes once a week with Kath Bell Dog Training in Packmoor, Stoke on Trent, it is a 1hour session with about 5-6 other dogs learning the basic skills, like sitting, waiting, heal work and retrieving. The people who work there are great they will help you if you are struggling and will offer you advice when needed and they even throw in a cup of tea and a biscuit for the humans. Alfie has made some lovely doggy friends. Alfie is so intelligent, well when he wants to be but for a nice bit of sausage he doesn’t let me down. :). We have been attending training now for 8 weeks and the lesson before Christmas they told me that Alfie will be moving up to the intermediate class, oh my goodness how proud I felt, I couldn’t stop smiling, my little man is going up in the world. So when we start back this is where the really hard work begins but I know he will do it because he is my Alfie.

Potty Training

Well Alfie was really good with his potty training and for some reason he has gone backwards which is not good for my carpet. We take him outside constantly and we can be outside for ages then as soon as we get in will be he wee not all the time but sometimes, or if we are busy doing something he will go and do it. I think it is an attention thing so we keep ignoring it and we have started to treat when he goes toilet we will have to see if that works.

Sleeping

I think we have cracked the sleeping, he goes bed between 8.30 and 9.30pm and the we won’t from him until well in the week he is up at 7ish as I think he hears next door getting up and he thinks it is us and at the weekend he sleeps till 8 which I think is not too bad. Me and my husband takes it in turns, who will get up and who will get a lie in. When Alfie gets up though he will go toilet have his breakfast and then will go asleep for another 2 hours. It is so funny when he sleep he has little dreams where he will twitch and make noises at first when he started to do this, I was like what is going on but I had a look in one of my books and it is a common thing. It is so cute I think he is dreaming about chasing something and it looks like he is running.

Leaving him.

I do work and I do leave him for a couple of hours. I have got a puppy play pen and his crate for when I go out and I leave him with his favourite toys and chews and he is great he will go straight in and most of the time when I get home he is asleep in his crate as I peep through the window. It killed me at first, I did it gradually 30minutes the an hour and so on and if he was barking I didn’t go in to him I waited until he was calm. As I didn’t want him to think if I bark she will come back but for our little family it is working.

Behaviour

What a little monkey he is right now. He was great about a month and half ago came in from the garden when told, sat on first command and didn’t have accidents but the past couple of weeks on my goodness it is all for attention and but something’s cannot be ignored. Alfie love humping and chewing my cushions, eating my carpet, digging holes in the garden, eating everything and loves baubles on the Christmas tree and has pulled it over twice. As well as all of that he is going through hopefully a phase of mouthing, he licks and nibbles but this cannot continue what if he did it to a stranger. He is also trying to show his dominance towards my husband snapping and trying to bite him, not good. When we go back training I have lots of questions.

Teething

I have just found out Alfie has lost about 3 or 4 teeth. Where they are? I don’t know I think he has eaten them. I knew they are due to come out and I have been on the lookout for them but I haven’t found any. He is chewing everything he can get in his mouth lucky though not my furniture.:) He has got cow feet and chew toys to keep him busy.

Size

Alfie is supposed to be a miniature Golden Doodle but Alfie is all legs, he is not fat he is very tall with huge paws everyone that meets him says “Goodness he going to be a big one”. Oh my. We got him weighed and he is now 10.8kg he seems to be putting on 2kg every 4 weeks as that is when he goes to get his worming medication but he is so cute and everyone stops us when we are out and about and even a professional photographer asked to take a photo because he is so cute but Alfie hates photos, he is rubbish.

Last one and I will let you be.

is the best thing in the world. We have our ups and downs but when he comes over to you and he looks at you with his big brown eyes your heart just melts. I love Alfie to bit and I don’t know what life was without him.

If you like my blog please press the follow bottom and leave me a comment in the box below as I love to read them. If you have any tips please let me know as all help is welcome.

Thanks for reading.

Vicky xxx

Alfie's First Day Out

Alfie’s First Day Out

What a lovely day we have had! We went to Rhyl, Wales for the day the weather was great lovely and sunny but extremely windy. Alfie could walk on the beach and have a paddle in the sea. He loved it J digging holes and running around, but it didn’t take long though before he became tired and we had to pick him up. Our poor arms felt like they were going to fall off. He slept the whole way home, he was tuckered out.

Thank you for reading my blog please leave me a comment at the bottom as I love to read them. 

Vicky xx

Alfie's First Bath

Alfie’s First Bath

Well Alfie has had his first bath, after getting very muddy from playing outside in the garden, I was expecting Alfie to try jump out but he did very well. We used Johnson’s puppy and kitten shampoo for delicate skin; we diluted the shampoo, 1 part shampoo to 4 parts warm water. We wet Alfie using warm water and then we poured half the mixture over Alfie and lathered him up, then poured over the rest of the shampoo and I rinsed him all off.

We did try and dry him using a hair dryer on a low temperature, but he wasn't to keen so we sat by the fire having a loving cuddle and I brushed him dry. One thing I found was that, because his fur is so thick the top of his fur was dry but the fur underneath was still wet, so when drying and brushing make sure you brush the under layer to stop matting and from your dog getting cold. Once Alfie was all dry his fur was beautiful, soft and fluffy, the shampoo is fragrance free so Alfie doesn’t smell like perfume, Alfie just smelt clean. which is good really as perfume smells can over power a dogs senses and they may roll out in mud or on the floor to get rid of the smell. so I recommend buying a fragrance free shampoo. I really recommend this shampoo not too expensive; I brought mine off Amazon for about £1.50.

It was so funny not long after we had finished and Alfie was lovely and clean, he needed the toilet and guess what it was RAINING L Well puppies don’t stay clean for long.

Thank you for reading my blog, I love to read your comments so please leave me one at the bottom.

Vicky xxx

Alfie's 2nd Jab

Alfie’s 2^nd Jab

Just a quick one! Alfie went to the vets the other day and I just wanted to write a post on Alfie’s experience. So the vet was lovely, so friendly she explained everything she was going to do. I also asked for Alfie to be Micro Chipped. She said let’s see how he is with the injection and if he is ok we can do the Micro chipping. The vet gave Alfie some treats and he was brilliant, nothing not even a whimper then a few seconds later he started to cry. The vet explained it could start to sting, but I rubbed the area and he soon settled. It broke my heart.  As he was so good she said it was ok to do the chipping. She asked me to hold his head, oh me oh my, what a sound but I know that it is worth it because if anything should happen to him I would be devastated. The vet gave me a spot on for fleas and a little puppy pack which is really good, with treats and lots of information. Alfie was also weighed when we collected him he was 4.3kg and now he is 5.4kg my little chunky monkey, he loves his food.

Well we have to go back to the vets in to weeks to visit the nurse so that Alfie doesn't associate the vets with pain. He will get weighed again. He is growing so quickly.

The day after Alfie has had lose poohs. I rang the vets and they explained that the injection can cause loose stools and if it persists then take him back to the vets. After a couple of day he was back to his normal self again.

Thank you for reading my blog, please leave a comment as I love to read them.

Vicky xx

Crate Training

Crate Training

As part of Alfie’s training we are crate training him and I know some people disagree with this technique but it work for Alfie it’s his little den and it is only for a short period.

We started with making his den nice and cosy, placing a blanket over the crate, putting a bed inside, his teddy with his mum’s smell and a couple of chew toys.

To start with I hid treats in his crate and so Alfie could feel this as a nice positive place and we sat with him gave him loads of praise while he was in the crate with the door open so he was able to come out. When he came out I didn’t say anything I placed more treat in side and gave him his Kong to chew on and continued this for a couple of minute, then I started to shut the door but I didn’t lock it just for a couple of seconds and then longer and longer then I locked it. And continue this training every day until he is really settled.

Well I wish I could tell you that the first time he went in for a sleep he was great, he wasn’t. It wasn’t the crate it was me leaving him and for him not to been able to get me, it broke my heart. For the first 2 night we sat by the crate with our fingers through so he could smell me and he settled off really quickly. Come to the 3^rd night we decided to leave him now and he cried L not for long but it felt like forever, it was the worse sound I have ever heard, but after a couple of minutes he was a fast asleep and didn’t wake till 3.30am for a wee. The thing is not to go to him, leave him as much as it kills you inside. I am sleeping down stair so I can hear him if he needs and wee and I haven’t got to walk down the stairs half asleep.

I have started his routine he goes in his crate for his morning and afternoon nap then bed time, the day naps he goes off great and sleeps for about 2 hours its’ just the night time, but we will keep you informed on how he goes.

I have also added a puppy pen so when I go to work his has a place to stretch and play. I have put puppy pads down so he can go toilet while I am at work and I have got a water bowl which connects to the crate's sides. 

I will write an up dated post for crate training letting you know how he gets on.

Thank you for reading my blog please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom as I love to read them.

Vicky xx

Week 1

Week 1

Sorry it has taken so long, I feel like I have had a baby not a puppy :) Well in a way I have really. 

Well where shall I begin? It has been a very bumpy rollercoaster ride but a very fun one at that. J

I am off work for 2 weeks which if you can do I really recommend, to help train Alfie his basic skills; well I am trying to should I say. I am trying to get him in to a routine so I can manage his toileting and feeding times ready for when I go back work.

I have so much to talk about so instead of writing a whole essay for you to read I am going to break it down in to different posts.

• ·         Potty training
• ·         Training Classes
• ·         Feeding
• ·         Routine
• ·         Socialising
• ·         Crate Training

And lots more.

I can tell you that as soon as you have a puppy you will have lots of visitors so make sure you have lots of tea and biscuits at the ready, but this is a great opportunity for you puppy to meet new people.

Alfie is now 10 weeks old which means he is due his second jab and I have booked him in to the vets for Monday which I am not looking forward to it but this means that we can start to take him out for walks in the park which I am so excited about but I will keep you informed on how it goes.

One thing I want to say is it has been a very emotional time for me and one thing which I feel is to blame is all of the different research which I did before collecting Alfie. Having a dog is not text book, all dogs are different and what it says in a book is not how it works and I found it hard to deal with, thinking it was all going wrong.

I am not saying not to do your research as in some aspects it really helped but don’t do too much, you need to have clear ideas of what you want to do with your puppy, use your common sense, as you are going to have to deal with your little puppy crying which they are going to do and it cripples you and let me tell you it does more than you could imagine, but I would not change it for the world, 5 days in and I am loving it and I would not swop it for the world it is the best thing I have ever done and all of the crying and heart ache that I am going through now will work out for the best in the end J

Good job I have got a great family who is there to support me and for Lovely Mary who is always at the end of the phone with advise. J

Thank you for reading my blog please leave me a comment at the bottom as I love to read them. 

Vicky xx