Daisy, Bertie and Alfie updates

Tonight we have three updates from the families that have had pups from Smudge and Henry's litter of Cavalier cross Brittany spaniel pups. These pups will be thirteen weeks old tomorrow. The first is from Laura, who has Daisy.

Lazy Daisy

"Hi Jane,

Well, we had a breakthrough - Daisy slept through for the first time last night! Yippee! It has been like having a newborn for the past week and we're looking forward to getting a bit more sleep!
Other than the sleep issue, Daisy has been an absolute joy. She alternates between being Lazy Daisy, when she sleeps and sleeps, to Crazy Daisy, when she is so playful and mischievous. The girls adore her and Isabelle has quickly got over her dog phobia. In fact Daisy came with us to Isabelle's preschool sports day, where she behaved impeccably and was the star of the show. 

---

Lazy Daisy

We've started training and she has mastered "sit", "down" and "high five". The priority now is working on recall so I can let her off the lead for longer periods. She's developed a penchant for chasing joggers which we also need to work on! 
Overall, she's such a big part of our family already. I can't believe we've only had her for just over a week.
I hope everything is well with you and your family. I'll watch with interest at how the other puppies get on and of course keep you posted on what Daisy is up to.
Laura x"

Thanks Laura for the lovely update on Daisy. Good to hear that she is getting better at settling for the night. When getting a pup, sometimes it can take a couple of weeks before they settle on their own over night. It can be just like having a baby for the first few nights, but if you stick to a routine, it will come eventually.

The next update if from Daisy's brother Bertie who was the last pup to leave us, this last Sunday.

---

"Hi Jane!

Just to let you know Bertie had a clean bill of health at our vets and was so chilled he fell asleep on the examination table! 

We are busy socialising him and he's met all the neighbours, some of our friends and some dogs and sat outside our local café. He only had one accident that first night and has been clean since - what a star!

Our Jasper is learning to share toys and they all swap and share bed space which seems to suit them all!

He really is a credit to you and our vet was quite rightly impressed!

I will keep you posted and here's a pic of some good sharing!

Tracey Xx"

Bertie and Jasper

Thanks Tracey, really good to hear that Bertie is getting on so well in his new home and that Jasper and him are becoming friends.

Lastly is an update for Alfie, Daisy and Bertie's brother. 

Alfie

"Hi Jane, 

well Alfie has been with us for 2 full weeks now and it s hard to imagine being without him. He has made himself at home and loves spending time in the garden getting into mischief. He has developed a taste for plums which means we have to go out on plum patrol before him as he would eat them whole given the chance. (they are tiny plums thank goodness) as the wood pigeons and squirrels have a feast on them and leave half eaten ones all over the garden. He s also discovered my courgette plants and wild strawberries!  He is certainly a character! and our grand daughters love him to bits.

He had his last injection last Friday and was very good, ... our vet was very interested in his breed mix and thought he  was a very successful cross.. he predicts he will be bigger than our last Cavalier ( Ted 11.7 kg) as he is now 7 kg already. So we are really looking forward to watch him grow and develop. We ll certainly keep sending you photos of him.

---

Alfie

He had a positive meeting with Lexy, our daughters dog... we took them out for a walk together and it was lovely seeing Alfie trying to keep up with Lexy who is VERY fast. Lexy comes to stay with us for 2 weeks from tomorrow and she seems very tolerant of him so far and has not reacted to his excess of energy. We are using  an Adaptil collar on Alfie as we were told it would help with the introduction of another dog in the house for both their benefits.

We were unable to have Alfies rabies injection last week as the brand of vaccine they use at ours vets stipulates that puppies have to be 3 calender months old...( it varies depending on which vaccine the vet chooses to use) but luckily we gave ourselves one week of wriggle room before booking our trip to France so timing still works out ok. (Defra only state that puppies have to be  "minimum of 12 weeks", so its quite confusing as regulations  changed Autumn 2014)

---

Alfie

I have managed to find a local dog trainer near our house so that is my next job to organise, he has taken to the lead quite well... we are using a body harness type which doubles as a car seat belt.

Bumble and Blottie are looking big too, how are they coping being with the other dogs, I'd be interested to hear how you manage their training. Alfie is mostly clean in the house, just the very occasional mistake that is entirely due to us not reading the signs and if we get up at 6.30 to let him out he is dry during the night. He is sitting to command most of the time especially if food is involved... did you teach him that or did he learn from the other dogs?

At the moment he is fast asleep on the sofa... he has no difficulty in hopping up there by himself now and today he had a jolly good try at climbing out of the conservatory window! he 's a busy boy.

Just one more very touching thing... when we look at your blog with the sound on the videos he reacts immediately to your voice and likes to watch the video! we find that very lovely!

Hope all is good with you and your family.

Much love and many thanks for all your help and the wonderful way you have brought on Alfie to be the lovely little cuddly, mischievous boy that he is.

Love Joan and Colin"



Thanks Joan and Colin for such a great update and it sounds like Alfie has become a very much loved family member. Can't wait for the photos of him chasing squirrels in the French Alps.


Alfie's sisters Bumble and Blottie are doing really well since their siblings left. They have been out in the car, with Blottie just getting a little sick the first time she traveled. They are getting used to being lead and know to sit on command. Luckily enough with our children we have a lot of  budding dog trainers, so plenty of hands to help to train these two girls. 

---