The count down is on

I got an email from the folks at the breeder the other day confirming we want to stay on the litter list for our puppy (um, yeah!).  I also confirmed with them that the puppy will get shipped to us on Friday August 5th.  I wanted to make sure she wouldn't be coming Friday July 29th because that would be a tricky time for me at work- I wouldn't be able to take off as much time that following week.

I think I have been driving my husband Brian a bit nuts with puppy talk lately - I am constantly telling him things like "we should make sure people know not to feed our puppy from the table" or "What names do you like the best?"  he is taking it pretty well even though I know puppies isn't his #1 favorite topic to discuss (unlike myself). 

As of today the countdown is 42 days until the puppy comes home.  I have been telling Stewie about the new puppy everyday to get him prepared (as if he knows what I am saying).  I should look into having the breeder send me a t-shirt or cloth with the puppy's smell on it when we get a little closer.  Then put the item in with Stewie so he gets used to the smell.  Stewie has really come a long way in terms of coming out of his shell.  When we first got him he really didn't want any human interaction - rather he would hang out with Sadie our other bunny and be perfectly happy.  After Sadie died he really started to look to us for some companionship and I try to hang out with him at night so he has some interaction.  Who knows maybe he will like the new dog more than us!  Actually I wouldn't be too surprised especially since she is a female. 

I am afraid I have no new puppy pictures to show - next picture date should be the 4 week picture at 7/4/11.  I can't wait!

Time to get this party started!

Welcome to my blog!  I set up this blog to chronicle my attempt to socialize the puppy I am getting with my current pet Stewie.  Stewie is a 3 year old (approximate age since he was adopted from the MSPCA) Netherland Dwarf rabbit.  Now many people have told me that trying to mix a dog with a rabbit is a recipe for disaster and I kind of believe them.  Actually my first pet rabbit, Daisy, was killed when a dog jumped into her outdoor pen.  Despite this, I am hoping that with a great deal of socialization and observation I will be able to get the puppy and Stewie to a point where they can coexist without fear.  I am not saying they will ever be at the point where I can leave them alone together, but I am hoping they can both hang out together without issues.  

A little background on the new puppy

My husband and I are getting an F1b standard goldendoodle which will be 75% poodle and 25% golden retriever.  We picked this breed because we need a non/low shedding dog and we have always loved the golden retriever temperament.  This breed is supposed to be good with other animals as well. 

The litter we are getting our puppy from was born on 6/5/2011 and we should be able to get our puppy in early August.  The litter is made up of 5 girls and 3 boys.  We are hoping to pick out a girl.  The anticipated size of the dog should be about 60 lbs. 

Here is the first picture I received of the girls dogs in the litter!

A little background on the rabbit

We adopted Stewie 3 years ago from the MSPCA.  At that time we had another rabbit named Sadie who was a Rex rabbit.  I did some research before getting Stewie to figure out what was the best combination for rabbits to get along.  The combinations of 2 females or a female and a male were supposed to be good for getting along, but a male and a male would not be ideal.  Both Stewie and Sadie were fixed before we got them but when we first put them in the same area they started to bite at and pull out each other’s fur.  They did not seem to want to get along and I was concerned they would have to live in separate cages.  I did a good deal of research on bringing 2 rabbits together and the research suggested putting their cages side by side for some time so they could check each other out but wouldn’t not able to get at each other.

  

I put their cages next to each other and then held nightly “integration” sessions between them.  The integration sessions included bringing the two of them together in a bathroom and me sitting with them and squirting them when they started to pull out each other’s fur.  The goal of the integration sessions was for them to spend some time together but then show them that when they started to fight they would get squirted.  After a couple of weeks of integration they weren’t fighting so much so I decided to put them both in the same cage.  I watched them for a while and they didn’t seem to mind being in the same cage so from that point forward they lived together.  After some time went by the two of them became great friends and loved to snuggle together when watching tv in the living room.  When Sadie died about a year ago Stewie was very sad not to have a friend.  I am hoping that Stewie gets a new buddy with the puppy. 

 Here is a picture of Sadie (left) and Stewie (right)

Over the next few weeks I will lay out the socialization plan and when the puppy comes home I hope to fill you in on how it goes!  

Stay tuned!