Hamilton and friends

Meet Hamilton, our amazing 4-year-old Toy Poodle x Bichon Frise (we think).

Jo and I adopted him from Battersea three months ago (July 2018) and we have been on a mad rollercoaster ever since! Although we read reams of literature, watched videos, spoke to all the doggy people we know, and reminisced about our own experiences of having family dogs, none of that came close to preparing us for the reality of sharing our lives with this wonderful little monster cloud. My advice:

  • If you had a dog as a kid, forget everything you think you know about dogs. There are many schools of thought of how best to educate dogs and many of the methods from 20+ years ago have been debunked.
  • Lovely dog walks around parks/fields with your trusty companion are (so far) a myth. You’ll spend all your time either watching your dog like a hawk, or scoping the surroundings for potential hazards – children, other dogs, random food on the ground.
  • Clear the next 6+ months in your diary – no foreign holidays/long overseas trips. Whether you get a puppy or adopt a rescue, it will take them that long to get bedded in to their new home.
  • Research dog behaviourists in your area – for your dog’s sake, it’s worth the money and will speed up the bedding-in process.

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