Bringing Ollie Home

So, after our good ole Skid dog passed in October after having him as my best companion for 14 years I really did not think I would want another dog for at least a year if not longer. But it seemed like everywhere I looked there were puppies! I kept seeing them on tv, in magazines, in the books I read the boys, along the sidewalks when I went shopping in town. It began to consume my thoughts and I began to long for a new puppy. But I also didn't want to have to potty train a puppy in the winter and I wasn't sure of what kind of pup would be the best fit for our family. After doing our research Jason and I finally agreed that we would like to get a Cockapoo puppy. They were supposed to not shed which was ultimately the deciding factor for Jason. He hated how much Skid shed. And I agree, Skid shed so much we could have made a small blanket a week with his fur he shed! Cockapoo's aren't expected to grow very big and this was also a must for our family because we knew we wanted our next dog to be an inside dog. We just didn't want to be overwhelmed with a large breed dog and two rambunctious boys running through our house. Cockapoo's are supposed to be great family dogs as they are good with children and like to be both active and chill.We found all of these qualities to be exactly what we wanted. So we found a breeder in Illinois and got put on their puppy list. We waited from November to Feb 8th. We were scheduled to pick up our new pup on the first full day back from returning to the Bahamas. I was excited about this because after every vacation I go through a post vacation depression and I thought the distraction of a new puppy would be just the thing to distract my mind. Oh boy was I mistaken. Yes, Ollie did distract me but far too much. I was overwhelmed and so confused on WHY ON EARTH I WOULD EVER THINK THIS WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA! If you ever consider doing this, please reconsider. It was not fun to be sunburned, transitioning from 80 degrees to 8 degrees, cleaning up pee and poo every half hour and outside every hour in the middle of the frigid cold February air- even if it is with the cutest puppy you have ever set eyes on!

First introduction with his new big brother, Grant.

10:00 pm February 8th -first introduction to his new living quarters. The boys were too pumped to go to sleep -it was a school night...another not very well thought out plan.

Meet Ollie- the cutest little cockapoo puppy this side of the Mississippi

Grant and Lane were both smitten. The loved him instantly and had several arguments over who's turn it was next to hold him. (*sidenote: this was back in the day when Ollie would allow the boys to hold him-now, he just won't have it!)

The daycare kids were pretty excited to get a new playmate too.

Lane loved packing him around that first week

Soooooo bitterly cold outside- it was awful for the both of us.

Immediately got extra comfy on the couch

Lane insisted I take his picture and send it to his teachers so they can see him hold his new puppy.

Loves sitting on the couch

I adore this picture. Grant just looks so content. I miss this! Ollie will not allow us to do this to him anymore. He wants his space and DOES NOT like to cuddle anymore

Ollie matches the carpet in our playroom so well he is almost camouflaged. I'm always fearful he will get stepped on.

Cuddles with Lane

Ollie sleeps in the position often. I find it so funny and incredibly cute

Lane makes sure Ollie gets covered with his blanket when he falls asleep

And then there are times when I make sure Lane is covered with his blanket when he falls asleep

Ollie's first bath. He actually seemed to enjoy it. He really does seem to still enjoy his weekly bath

Oh my goodness- it's he scrumptious?

He also loves riding in the car

His favorite thing to do is hump and chew his blankets. He used to hump us so I allow this behavior because as long as it's not my leg or someone else s then I am cool with it.

Loved the days when he would allow us to cuddle him. Now he will literally get up and walk about 5 feet away and lay down somewhere else.

I don't know what happened or when but he just doesn't like to cuddle anymore. Guess it's possible we bombarded him in his early weeks with TOO MUCH! lol

In his spot on the couch again

New chew toys- always a great day for us both

There he is sleeping on his back again

Loves sticks and being outside

so windy his ears would flop around in the wind- so funny for me to watch

soooo windy but soooo nice to be outside

Just blending in

Mallory and Vicki came to meet Ollie one night and Vicki snapped these sweet pictures of our little poo

Another ride in the car

Although he doesn't like to be cuddled anymore he definitely feels to need to be right by us at all times.

He enjoys getting brushed daily- he looks like such a fluffy fur ball afterwards

The breeder would send us weekly pictures of Ollie. It was so fun to get the newest picture of him every Monday! He has grown so much. He's had his first rounds of shots, been to the vet now twice and weighs 9lbs. He is exploring every each of our house and when I say exploring I really mean finding things to grab and chew. Especially rolls of toilet paper and socks. And when I say socks I mean socks that are currently being worn by someone. He loves to watch the boys play indoor basketball. He loves his treats and turkey and cheese which I only use during training sessions. He knows how to sit, lay down and fetch and can also ring a bell to get our attention that he has to go outside. Although he does not yet do this very consistently. And he also uses the bell to get our attention for other things- (ie- when he wants his food and water bowl down, when he wants to go down stairs or when he is just bored). Every night he gets the zoombies. He will literally go crazy- running hot laps around the house. He will do this every night around the same time (5:30-6:00) and it will last a few minutes at lightning speed and then he will stop and plop down and be done for the night. He's enrolled in Puppy Pre-School and will go through a 7 week obedience class.  I'm anxious to see how he does with this. I'm sure this will not be my last Ollie post. I will certainly be flooding my blog with cute pictures of him and informing you all of his progress (or lack thereof). Wait for it.