Well Saturday we finally collected ‘Lucky’ our 11wk old Lakeland Terrier. This entailed a long trip to Cheshire and back and she handled the trip magnificently sleeping for most of the 5hr journey home.
She’s spent the weekend settling in to life in her new home and is huge fun. Lakeland’s are a breed that is growing rarer by the day so whilst it took us a very long time to find her we are delighted to finally have her home. They look very much like a small version of an Airedale with powerful back legs, beared face and thick wiry coat. Typical Terrier traits, intelligent, inquisitive, playful and importantly for us, ideal for people who are allergic to pet hair as she does not moult. As both Charlie and I suffer from this it was a driving factor in choosing a Lakeland.
‘Lucky’ has a black and tan coat with a mix of wheaten. She’s proving quite a character and has settled in very quickly. The first two nights we had her sleeping in a crate in our bedroom to ease her into her new home but last night we left her crate in the lounge. We left her and went to bed without issue but as expected she cried about 1.30am for 20 mins. Although we were both awake and feeling very guilty she went back to sleep and there were no more issues which was a huge relief.
Toilet training is going well and she is choosing to use the newspaper laid out more often, next step will be to move the training outside.
She has a delightful character, is inquisitive without being naughty and has already become a part of the family. She’s been out to the Pet Store and met Charlie’s friends at her school as part of her socialisation and this afternoon she goes to the vet’s for an initial checkup. We hope to take her with us to France next year on holiday so need to start the Pet Passport checks etc ASAP.
I’ve posted some pics to the Gallery already but there are some more here. At the moment when she is awake she is rarely still enough to photograph so most of them are of her sleeping! Will try to get some decent photos of her awake this week. I’ve dug out the DSLR so that I have more to work with!
Darren,
As we’re a few months ahead of you (Scruffy the Wheaten is now 71/2 months) and training aids have move on loads since I last had a pup in the late 80’s, can I recommend two things we’ve discovered you might find useful (if used correctly) in the coming months if you experience certain behaviour / training problems?
Bitter Apple (to help stop chewing and hand biting)
http://www.bitterapple.com/
(we get it from: http://www.pets-pantry.com/
but also found it here: http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1131)
&
Pet Corrector (to interupt unwanted behaviour such as unwanted barking, aggression or as in our case, leg humping!)
http://www.companyofanimals.co.uk/pet-corrector.php
All the best with Lucky 🙂
cheers,
Terry
Terry, many thanks for the tips, I’ll look them up. I work from home with my wife so she has lots of company and will be getting lots of exercise as soon as she is ready but any tips are very welcome!
Currently the major goals are toiletting and sleeping through the night, both progressing well so we’ll get there in the end but we know there are many hurdles and milestones to go! Doesn’t matter though as we’re loving the new family member and the challenges she brings!
Hi Darren
Lucky is gorgeous… reminds me of the day nearly 2 years ago when we bought home out 2 little bundles in the shape of Jack Russell Pups….!
They turned our life upside down, and we wouldn’t be without them! They’re great to come home to! Although Jane now works nights os they are rarely on their own at all.
They’re off to the vets on Tuesday – Castration looms…. sadly choice on one of them was taken out of our hands as one has undescended, but feel very cruel getting the other done, but am assured that it is in his best interest to prevent anything dodgy in the future.
Enjoy Lucky – and relish everyday as they grow so fast!
Niki
Hi Niki,
We love her to bits, she brings a smile to our faces every day. Nights have been the worst part, she was crying at varying times during the night (we’re using a crate in the hall) and whilst we were ignoring her it was disrupting sleep badly.
Best we had was a 5.30am wake up but invested in a snuggle puppie with the heat pouch and heartbeat. Came y’day and last nite she slept from 10pm until 7am when we came down to check. She was still asleep! So that is a huge result!
So no it’s the next stages of toilet training, she won’t go outside but will always choose newspaper inside. We’re trying to get that sorted now.
She’s changing already but we’re loving every minute and she’s settled in well.
Darren