Our Puppy Plans, Expectations & Worries

I am mostly writing this post so I can look back on it and probably laugh at how things haven't worked out as expected or to read with a wry smile about how excited I was or to see how naive I was. Who knows, by some miracle things may turn out just as expected (although I am not that unrealistic). 

Little Fozzy will be coming home with us forever in less than 4 weeks. He is an F1 Red Cockapoo (with a Cocker Spaniel Mam and Poodle Dad). Those of you who follow me on Social Media will know that for the past 9 months we have been looking after Ollie once a week through Borrow My Doggy. It is because of Ollie that we fell in love with the breed. 

I am trying to be as prepared as I can and doing lots of research / reading about raising a happy puppy now while I have the headspace. My mam says I am acting very much like I was when I was pregnant with Harry / he was first born - being very precious / maticulous / organised / well read about it all. I can see what she means and I can definitely see the similarities in myself now and when I was pregnant / a first time mum. I wasn't like this at all with Dee and Jack btw and was very much go with the flow with them. 

No dogs or Cockapoos are ever the same but generally speaking, Cockapoos are good for families with older kids like us. They can be a bit 'bouncy' and are a mix of being chilled and relaxed with a few crazy moments mixed in. 

They have a cracking sense of humour and require a moderate amount of exercise (around 20 minutes per day is a minimum recommendation) but once they are old enough can usually like longer walks (we do plan on walking him longer than 20 minutes per day when he's able). They are very easy to train, intelligent, lovable and don't bark too much. 

Ollie absolutely loves to snuggle in for a cuddle and also loves going for walks. I hope our dog will be the same. 

Cockapoos have a low prey drive and generally won't run away and will stay by your side however the downside of this is that they can get very attached to one of their owners. They are also known to suffer with separation anxiety and are notoriously fussy eaters. They are hyper-allergenic but do require more grooming than many breeds. 

As I say, these are all generalisations. There is no guarantee Fozzy will be like this but I feel like the breed in general is perfect for us. 

When I was 19, we did have a puppy Springer Spaniel at home but that was almost 20 years ago now and things have changed a lot since then. I remember our kitchen being covered in newspaper during his toilet training, Toby being locked in the kitchen and we didn't read a single training manual (although to be fair, he was well trained). Back then, the thought of putting a dog in a crate was frowned upon and seen as cruel. 

This time around, I've been reading up on modern training methods which do align with how I'd like to raise our puppy. There are quite a few differences now. 

We will be crate training Fozzy from the start. Lots of professionals now recommend this and it speeds up the toilet training process and helps them to settle in as the 'den' is seen as their safe place. It also means when we go on holiday in October that we can take his crate to my mams (where he will already have visited lots) and he will hopefully settle ok for the week. 

We are using a 'clicker' as an event marker during training and a whistle for recall training - both of which we've never used before. We're going to do this from the very start / day two of him coming home. I am also going to focus on enrichment experiences and feeding. Basically I want to do all I can to make sure Fozzy is comfortable, healthy, stimulated and happy. 

We won't be using puppy pads or newspapers as were the traditional way. Instead we are going to train him to go outside from the outset. I have watched bell training videos which looks good but I think we are going to use the method recommended in 'The Happy Puppy' which is basically using an event marker and taking them outside every 30 minutes at the start. It's going to be full on in the first 4 weeks I know but I am hoping that putting hard work in at the start will pay off in the long run. 

We are also following the advice given by many professionals re: puppy socialisation and taking Fozzy out and about to meet 100 people in weeks 8-12. There is a small window in a puppy's life when you can get them used to noises and all of the different distractions in the world and how different people interact with them and weeks 8-12 is it.

Fozzy will be 10 weeks in February Half Term and Steve has the week off then too. He will have been at home for two weeks at this point so hopefully settled in and I am hoping at this point, Steve and the kids will be able to help with his training and we will be dedicating a lot of the week to that. T

his is also the week we will be taking him out and about to meet lots of our friends and their kids when they are off school. They say that meeting young children at a young age is one of the best things you can do for your puppy as young children are so unpredictable in their behaviour and your dog will meet many unpredictable people in it's life. The earlier you start with this, the better.  

Some experts recommend taking your puppy out as much as you can and at every opportunity to experience the world around them so they aren't too scared/anxious later on and also, when you move recall training outside, they won't be as distracted as the sights and smells will be familiar to them. Fozzy won't be fully immunised at this point so we will be carrying him everywhere in a little sling. Something I thought looked a bit silly in the past but now I've read up on it, makes complete sense to us so now I think people might be looking at us a little silly now. But I don't mind. 

Recommended day trips for a puppy aged 8-12 weeks include the train station, the pet shop, the pub, out to meet the neighbouts, out to meet the postman and the binmen, into a town centre, on a short bus ride, waiting outside the supermarket and to your friends' houses. Anywhere where it's busy and noisy. If your puppy gets distressed by the noises etc.....it's best not to force it and if this happens, moving a little further away from the noise usually helps and you can gradually get a little closer each time. 

We do not have a spare seat in our car and do plan on Fozzy coming on holiday with us in the future so he will be using a crate in the boot for travel. Again, we will be using this from day one so he is used to it and we'll be taking him out in the car regularly from being small.

A crate in the boot is supposed to be better for travel sickness and dogs getting used to it from an early age helps too but there are no guarantees. Cockapoos can get travel sick and if they do, this often passes once they reach 9 months - 1 year. I guess we will just have to wait and see how we get on with this. 

Some experts say you can also allow your dog to interact with other dogs who you know and trust and who are fully immunised during this period. I am hoping to do this with Ollie and a few of my friends' dogs too. The idea is for your puppy to interact with as many types of people as they can when their brain is still developing so they don't just know your four walls and your immediate family. It is the chance to programme future behaviours. 

I am going to be spending every day in the same room as Fozzy. There is no getting away from that due to logistics and I actually do want him as company too. I am worried that he is going to become very attached to me though, especially as I will be his main carer and trainer too.

So the plan is in the early weeks for me to leave him with the kids for an hour when they get home from school (Steve will be at home too). Harry is 16 this year and I 100% trust that he and Dee can be trusted to care for a puppy for a short space of time. My brother and Evan are going to come over for a few nights a week too. I am hoping this will get Fozzy used to me leaving him and not always being there. To start with in the evenings I will also make sure I spend some time upstairs watching TV/ having a bath or something so Steve has a chance to bond with him after work too. To be honest I bet I need the break. 

This plan seems rather elaborate and I don't know if I am overthinking things so lets see if it works and we stick with it! 

Once Fozzy is a little older we will start leaving him alone for a little bit but to be honest, I don't really need to worry about him being alone as we are so lucky that we have friends and family who will readily watch him for us if needed so this isn't really high on my agenda at the moment.  One benefit of having older kids means that Steve and I can pop out or still have a night out etc....and leave Fozzy at home with the teens if needed. 

Once Fozzy is 12 weeks and can start to be walked outside, we plan on Harry and Dee sharing the early morning walk just around the block before school on alternative weeks, I will take him for his main walk during the day and then Steve is going to do the night time walk. Jack won't be doing any of the dog walking solo as he isn't responsible enough yet but he can help and come with us over the weekends like he does with Ollie now. 

In terms of food, I did consider raw feeding but I am still on the fence and think I will stick with the food his breeders have weaned him on to begin with and then decide how we will proceed once we see how he goes. 

I am not too worried about the sleepless nights etc.... as there are 5 of us, 4 of which can fully care for Fozzy so we can tag team each other etc..... if needed. We had three kids under the age of 4. We can deal with sleep deprivation, accidents and early mornings. I'm not too worried about that part of it all. 

So these are all of my hopes, plans and worries. I think everyone has different ideas on how they are going to raise their dog and how a dog will fit into their family dynamic. This is what I hope is going to happen but I fully get that it might not and we will of course be flexible and be to some extent, led by Fozzy and his personality too. Absolutely no judgement on those who use different methods (which I hope is returned). 

I don't think we will attend puppy classes. I kind of know what I want to / need to do training wise and just want to crack on with it myself. I have read mixed things about classes and I'm not sure if they are for us. I think if we do need help, I am probably more likely to go with a private trainer who comes to your house and works with just your family but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. 

I am keen to attend informal puppy socials though and I know a few dog cafes run these so as soon as Fozzy is immunised, I will be taking him along to those. 

We don't want to breed Fozzy and he'll be getting the snip as soon as we can. Poor guy! 

Once Fozzy has been here for a few weeks I am going to write a little update. I wonder how the expectations will match the reality??