Puppy Update

I think people are generally more interested in puppies than they are in children's literature. You would not believe the number of emails I get about my Mini Whoodle, Ozzy! I blogged about our decision to get him, and I guess when people do a web search for Whoodles, they find me. So I figured it was high time I give an update about our life with Ozzy, otherwise known as The World's Sweetest Dog.

We got Ozzy from Barb at Old McDoodle Farm. I highly recommend her. Ozzy is now about 1 1/2 years old, but he still has that sweet, excited, loving puppy attitude. Perhaps that's why he has earned the nickname "Puppa" or "Puppalicious" or "Puppadoo." Ozzy has never met a human or animal he didn't like. He barely ever barks, only to come in from outside or to say hello to a friend across the street. He doesn't bite either, although he will jump up on people sometimes. (We are working with him on that one.) He will do just about anything for a belly rub.

He loves to take walks and go to the dog park. He also loves to sit on the couch and snuggle with whoever is watching TV or reading a book. We have an invisible fence, and he was trained on it very quickly. We think of him as the mayor of our street because he sits in the front yard and interacts nicely with all the people and animals who walk past. His favorite time of day is when the school bus stops in front of our house, and all the kids come by to say hello. He is 22 pounds, which is the perfect size. Small enough to snuggle with but not tall enough to reach the counter tops. His coat never changed to the wheaten color, but he lightened to a charcoal gray, and he has a cute, blonde, very 1970's mustache.

We house trained him with no trouble at all. He never has accidents. He sleeps in a crate. In his first year, he chewed up two retainers, a pair of glasses, a couple rolls of toilet paper, and countless socks. We have learned to keep bedroom and bathroom doors shut.

I never really wanted a dog. I wasn't much of an animal lover as a kid, and as an adult, I turned into a cat person. But after our kids became teenagers, and our cats died, and my beloved grandmother passed away, and our house was burglarized... something clicked inside of me, and I was determined to get a dog. My husband was not on board at first. He didn't want the responsibility. He didn't want anything interfering with the freedom we were starting to have as our kids were getting older. But shhh... he's embarrassed by those thoughts now! Ozzy has brought so much joy and laughter and love to our family. The responsibility is definitely worth it!