Getting a dog has been a life long dream for me. I’ve always been that girl that’s stopped to pet dogs in the street, stared at other people walking theirs with envy, and imagined what having my own companion would really be like. Thankfully, my partner in life feels the same, so back in March we decided to add a dog to our clan.
Whilst I’ll forever be pro adoption, unfortunately as we already have two house rabbits we found that most rescues turned us away as they (understandably) weren’t confident that their dogs would be suitable to mix with rabbits. Whilst we weren’t looking for a dog to fully merge with the rabbits, we were looking for a dog that could, at some point, mix well with rabbits – or at least be able to ignore them. As a result it was decided that getting a puppy would be the best fit for us, as we would be able to introduce and train him from the start.
We had a bit of back and forth on what breed we should get – my boyfriend wanted as big a dog as possible (a Great Dane) and I thought something smaller would be more appropriate for our first dog, and in the end we both settled for a Groodle – a Golden retriever X Poodle. They’re renowned for being gentle, sociable and intelligent dogs and great companions. They also don’t shed (thanks to their poodle mix) which is a big, big win.
I had done so much research into how best to train and care for Paddy, but when he first arrived it all went out the window. It’s like having a newborn baby and no amount of research could have prepared me. That said, we were pretty lucky with Paddy – we got him when he was 9 weeks old so he was already on the way to being toilet trained, and after a few nights on the sofa with him he was able to sleep in a room alone.
As Jack and I both work full time, we like to make sure Paddy is kept busy during the day. 2-3 times a week we pay for a dog walker to come and take him out for an hour or so. I highly recommend an app called PawShake which allows you to find reasonably priced, local dog walkers and sitters which are a fraction of the cost of professional walkers. The other days, he goes to Jack’s sisters shop and has a whale of a time greeting customers and having cuddles with everyone he meets.
Paddy is now six months old, and actually looks nothing like a traditional Groodle. He definitely got more of his mother’s side (retriever) so just looks like a mini retriever with a dashing red coat. We make jokes constantly that he’s not what we paid for – but we’re obsessed with him and think he’s just gorgeous. Paddy is a loving, cuddly dog that’s as needy as I hoped and also quite mischievous. He loves tissue, pom poms, squeaky toys and cheese. He also has a penchant for the expensive things in life and makes it his mission to only destroy our most expensive items.
Getting a dog has been one of the best things I’ve ever done, he adds so much joy to our lives – he gets us out of the house, chatting to and meeting new people and we couldn’t imagine life without him.
That said, no more animals.
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