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Raising Flynn Part 1: The Practicalities of Puppy Parenting

Writer's picture: eleanormallinsoneleanormallinson

In all this world there are very few things as cute as a baby animal. Anyone who knows me knows I find human babies intimidating and have no maternal instinct at all. I have been known, when forced to watch over friend's babies while they disappear to the bathroom, to look around the room for a suitable looking maternal figure to which I could push the pram if the small human inside wakes up in my presence. Many agree I am the last person they should leave a small human with and I have no shame in admitting it.


Animals on the other hand are a completely different matter... for the most part. I cannot resist a fur baby and admit I will speak baby-talk at said four legged friend while desperately resisting the urge to squish, smooch and cuddle them too much. I just find them so cute it's unbearable! This is probably one of the reasons why I live in a menagerie. We do rehome as well and take adult animals, but every now and then the introduction of a baby is inevitable and highly encouraged.


I live at home with my mother in an old farmhouse so it is easier to care for all our four legged friends. We currently have 7 cats, 6 raised from kittens and one rescue. 11 horses, 3 of which were raised from foals and all have a forever home with us. 1 giant rabbit, 1 axolotl an assortment of fish in tanks and 2 chickens. 7 geese, again most were raised from babies, but despite handling for many of their early months and no matter how cute the goslings were, they grow up to be angry adults who have no loyalty or gratitude for your love and care and become evil creatures you avoid turning your back on. They are great guards though. Nobody can sneak onto your property when you have geese.


Although geese have no loyalty our final furry companions have it in buckets. I am of course obviously speaking of the dog.


Unfortunately, our dogs aren't exactly easy. One is a rescue, a doodle breed who failed to become an assistance dog (which was his original destiny) when he showed aggression towards other dogs on the lead and anyone entering his territory despite being quite daft when you get to know him. He came to us after four other homes before he was 2 years old. No wonder the poor lad has insecurity issues! His best friend and partner in crime is our 3 year old Sprocker. We'd only ever had big dogs before the spaniel, but thought it might be nice to have something a bit different from our usual pattern. He is very sweet and loves a cuddle on the sofa, but out walking he takes his route half a field away from us and literally suffers from deafness if hunting in the hedgerows. He's also bonkers, chasing beams of light across the room like a cat and regularly zooming round using people sat on the sofa as trampolines. He's very intelligent, but can be like trying to train a goldfish. You give the command, he understands, but gets distracted before he can achieve the task and forgets what he was supposed to be doing. He's a great example of ADHD and before turning three we had no chance of getting any focus from him. As a pair they are not easy to work with and cause trouble and this was the reason I thought we wouldn't get another dog for a while...


how wrong I was.


I lost my dog, a Large Munsterlander called Caspian, a year and a half ago and still miss him. He was my loyal friend and such a handsome, well-behaved and intelligent dog. Before him we had a golden retriever called Apollo who was without a doubt the sweetest and most lovely dog we have ever owned. For years the household debate was whether it was time to have another retriever because, in our opinion, they are the best dogs. I was being the sensible grown up and looking at if we could handle another dog with our two ne'er-do-wells, the finances, the time needed and the general business of our lives, especially with 11 horses to care for. Somehow, despite my logical arguments, I came home from a long week at work to find my mother had been online 'window shopping'. She had found a litter of Golden Retriever's for sale only 30 minutes away. Before I knew it we were in the car and then sat in a garden with a mother retriever and her three puppies. I accepted then there was no way we were leaving without putting down a deposit. The mother was lovely and friendly and the pups were well looked after, and because they were a small litter, already chunky monkeys.


This is how we ended up with Flynn.


Why Flynn? Well, that's a bit of a silly thing we do. All of our cats and dogs are named after film characters and have 'full' names. We have a cat called Han Solo and another called Jack Sparrow... I could give you the full list, but it would take a while. With this tradition in mind we were left trying to think of a name for the new puppy. He had a lot of skin to grow into which gave him a smouldering look and it became obvious he had to be named after the handsome rogue from Disney's 'Tangled'. Flynn Rider it was! And, yes he lives up to his name sake; naughty but loveable and very loyal.


There are a lot of wonderful things about having a puppy in your life. They bring you so much joy and laughter. But, there are also a lot of challenges and although some parents might argue with me, it's a lot like caring for a baby... only without the maternity leave.


I will be posting stories giving examples of some of the experiences I have had with Flynn as an experienced puppy parent to help those out there who might be thinking about getting a puppy. I want to show the positives but also the challenges which come from letting these adorable bundles of fluff into our lives. Maybe this will give an honest view and make sure new owners are prepared for the practicalities of being a puppy parent.





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