Today I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Lucy the Borador puppy.
I have always wanted my own dog, but when I was living with my parents they wouldn't let me have one and usually you aren't allowed pets if you are in rented accommodation. So when we got the house the first thing I wanted to do was get a dog. Finances were tight and I wanted to see how much things would cost before committing to a dog, so I wasn't expecting to get a dog any time soon. However I happened to mention to my boyfriend how much I wanted a dog and out of the blue he said "Shall I get you one for Christmas?'. I didn't think he was serious, but it turns out he was! So in December I started looking for one. I wanted to get a puppy so that I could bring it up how I wanted and know that there weren't any behavioural issues, as can be the case with rescue animals. I have always liked Border Collies and Labradors and I wanted a dog that would be intelligent so that I could train it beyond the basics and possibly do dog agility with it.
I found some Border Collie x Labrador puppies (Borador for short) nearby that were very reasonably priced, so we arranged a visit. Out of a litter of nine there were two girls left. One was very shy and the other ran up to us straight away wanting a fuss. I had read that you should pick a confident puppy so we chose the one that came up to us straight away.
We took this picture when we went to view her. She has grown so much since then!
On the 18th December we went to collect her. Within minutes it became clear that she was going to be a travel sick little puppy and the journey home was the longest hour of my life. Once we got her home she quickly recovered from the journey and was running about exploring her new home. We also have two cats which we introduced slowly and Lucy had no problem with (other than loving to chase them!). I was expecting the first night to be very difficult, but as is her way, Lucy was not phased at all by being away from her mum and litter mates.
Within a couple of weeks she had learnt sit and lay. Since then we have taught her crawl, roll over, paw, catch, fetch and spin. She waits at doors and gates until I tell her she can go through and she will come when called. I am also working on teaching her the names of her toys so she can bring a named toy back to me. She is so friendly and will happily roll over in the street for a tummy rub. The best thing is coming home and seeing how happy she is to see me.
Her worst habit by far is eating things she shouldn't. So far she has eaten cat poo, bird poo, a bone, wood, stones, a dead frog, a dead mouse and socks. As much as I try to stop her she is so fast. You think she is just sniffing something and by the time you realise she is actually eating it, its too late. This habit has already resulted in a very costly visit to the vets for a stomach infection. She also hates dogs coming up behind her and trying to sniff her. I don't know where this has come from as she hasn't to my knowledge had an experience that would make her scared.
In terms of the breed traits she has, I would say she has an equal mix of both pure breed's traits. She is very intelligent, athletic and energetic like a collie and very hungry and friendly towards people like a labrador. If she isn't given enough to do she will find her own entertainment, which usually means destroying something she shouldn't. If she gets plenty of exercise then she is very well behaved and entertains herself well with her toys.
Lucy often sits like this on things. Its very cute.
In general she has been a good puppy, but the first couple of months were extremely difficult trying to adjust to the new arrival. She couldn't be left on her own for a minute, unless she was in her pen, it was hard work constantly cleaning up accidents and getting up in the middle of the night to take her outside. There were moments during those months that I wished I hadn't got her. But once she started getting the hang of going to the toilet outside and she started begin able to go through the night without a visit outside it got much easier. Now I can't imagine her not being around and I love her so much. She makes me smile everyday and she is super intelligent.
I will be doing update posts about Lucy's progress, tips and things I have learnt about raising a puppy and also recommendations for pet things e.g. insurance, food. So stayed tuned!
TTFN! (Woof! from Lucy)
