Yes, you heard it right ā we have some new, furry members in the family, and they’re turning the house upside down in the most delightful way.Ā Ā
Thereās no doubt that little fur babies are adorable and they increase those levels of oxytocin āĀ the āloveā hormone.Ā Those who have seen my profile know that we are a huskyĀ and frenchie family. Tess, our Husky is an elegant lady of 12Ā years who has travelled the world with usĀ – Dubai, Bahamas, Aspen and Portugal. And yes..She does travel on a European passport . She was given to us as a gift whilst we lived in Dubai. Perhaps not the ideal climate for her. She is her happiest in Aspen…actually itās my happy place too. Ā
But I wanted to share with you our experience with Beluga and Luna ā our new Frenchies, who were born in June 2024.Ā They flew from a breeder in Europe to our home in the Algarve. Lufthansa will allow animals as hand luggage in the cabin provided they weigh no more than 8 kg including their travel container. Unfortunately little Luna had a bit of an upset tummy so this was not pleasant having to clean her numerous times on the flight and apologies to those on the plane with her.Ā
Just for clarity ā we love our pets, they are part of the family,Ā though training them is out of our wheelhouse. So we reached out to an animal trainer ā more on this fabulous human being in an upcoming podcast.Ā And in his wordsā¦āThere are no untrainable dogs, just untrainable humans!ā Ouch! That really hits home.Ā Ā
Can I just mention that according to my celebrity dog trainer ā huskies and frenchies are some of the most difficult breeds to trainā¦even more reason to have an animal trainer with us .
So what is theĀ most important fact that IĀ picked up with new puppiesĀ
Ā – Crate training with structure and routine.Ā Ā
Sharing this routine which has been a game changer for our family.Ā Ā
- Designating a particular area for toilet training. As soon as they are out of the crate, place them in this area untill they finish their business with lots of positive reinforcement and treatos.Ā Ā
- A meal or play timeĀ Ā
- AĀ play area thatās safe and fenced offĀ Ā
- Lots of soft chewy toys for their small teethĀ
- My puppies tend to eat each otherās poop ā this is so disgusting and I am constantly wiping their little mouths so I can give them kissesā¦what do we do with this? Use bitter dog spray and spray this on the poop as soon as you can to prevent them from eating this.Ā Beluga and Luna love the little rocks in our garden, so we have used the spray here. All snailsĀ and worms do not interest them.Ā Ā
- Move on to household items that little puppy teeth like to chew on e.g. shoes, books, caps, sunglasses, furniture ā a strict NO when they come closeĀ
So where were we 7 days later? Beluga and Luna were sleeping 7 hours at night in their crate..this happened after about 2 days. They areĀ Identifying where to use the bathroom and what toys they are allowed to play with.Ā Ā
