Three months ago we headed out of the city to go see a potential new puppy. This moment had been long-awaited, it’s been 12 years since I last had a dog. Newfie wasn’t my first dog, but he was my biggest pet heartbreak. Losing Newfie took me a long time to heal. I miss Newfie every single day.
I did my research on different types of dog breeds and narrowed it down to a few breeds that I knew would be a great fit for our family and lifestyle. Then I searched and searched for what felt like forever. Eventually, I managed to find some puppies that my mom and I were both interested in going to see.
My deep dive online search had narrowed it down to two puppies, the same dog breed but owned by two different owners. After some messages back and forth we made arrangements to go see the puppies in person the next day. This worked out perfectly considering the drive would be a few hours away, but both owners lived not far from each other. Which meant we’d be able to see both puppies on the same day.
I told myself that we’d only go to look at the puppies, and that’s it.
My mom and I brought Emilee and Kennedy with us to see the puppies. Since they’re both the youngest kids I knew it would be important to find a puppy that could handle them. When we pulled up to the first place, our vehicle was greeted by the cutest set of dogs. The owners came out and introduced themselves, and said they’d go get the puppy I was interested in. Emilee and Kennedy were busy playing with some other puppies and having a great time.
I knew then and there that we wouldn’t be leaving without a puppy.
One of the dog owner’s brought us the puppy that I was interested in, and my heart melted. This puppy was adorable, but we didn’t “vibe”. I know what you’re thinking, what the heck Erika…You can’t vibe with a dog, but I’m telling you, you can. I knew at that moment, that pup wouldn’t be coming home with us.
I told the owner that the puppy was adorable, but that we just didn’t click. She said that she understood and that we need to pick a dog that fits our life. So I took a chance and asked her if she had any other puppies available. As luck would have it she had a few. She brought 3 male pups, one was “the runt”, and we didn’t click either.
The next two puppies… this is where it got difficult.
The owner handed me the second pup out of the three, and he was the cutest thing. He was cuddly and was laying quietly on my mom’s chest. This puppy took a real liking to my mom, and her to him…he was so calm.
We got Emilee and Kennedy to hold him as well, and I thought for sure he was going to be “the one” that came home with us.
My mom was holding the puppy again, meanwhile, the owner passed me the last puppy to see. This puppy was just as cute, the markings were different but what made the biggest difference was this puppy’s tail was wagging like crazy and he kept licking me.
After a few minutes, my mom and I switched puppies, and the last pup wagged his tail with her. It was decision time, who was going to be coming home with us… I told Emilee and Kennedy to hold the last puppy and his tail went crazy with them too.
That’s when I knew he’d be the puppy coming home with us.
Instead of giving the puppies names, they had numbers on their bellies to identify them, this tail-wagging licking pup’s number was the number 1 yet another sign.
October 24th, 2021;
On the ride home, my mom and I thought of names for our newest addition. None of the names we thought of seemed to fit. We stopped at Canadian Tire in Red Deer on the way home, to grab a couple of puppy essentials; a dog collar, leash, water, food dish, and a few dog toys.
When I left the car he started to cry, and when I came back it was clear as day…Shadow was going to be his name.
Shadow did really well on the ride back home, he only peed once in the car (on a blanket.) From the moment we got home Shadow’s been following me around like my own shadow. He did some exploring around the house but didn’t wander far from me. Then he fell asleep again for yet another nap. Once he was done his power nap he ate some food and drank some water, followed by a trip outside to go to the bathroom before I gave him a bath.
Shadow had a few pee accidents in the house before bed, but throughout the night he didn’t pee anywhere (slept in my room.) I had to take him out three times throughout the night because he was whining though.
Halloween 2021
Shadow’s first Halloween with us, made the day a little more chaotic. My mom and I were running around getting the kids costumes and Halloween makeup done. Meanwhile Shadow ran around the house, it’s like he could sense the busyness. I decided we were going to bring Shadow out trick or treating with us, that was a new adventure.
I bought Shadow a Christmas sweater that I had found on a clearance rack, at the Petland. The dog sweater was marked down to $20 orignally sixty dollars. I wasn’t sure if the sweater would fit with all of his fur, but it worked out since I ended up shaving him a week before Christmas.
Grooming Shadow was a learning curve..
Before I did anything I did some google and Youtube searching, I even joined a couple of dog grooming group on Facebook which are super helpful. There’s one for dogs in general, and there’s another specifically for Bernedoodles. However, it’s definitely a learning curve to do it properly. I started out with a longer blade the first time I shaved him, because I’d rather have to shave again vs shaving off too much. I’ve shaved him a couple of times now, and I figured out how I like to get his fur shaved.
Shadow figured out how to jump onto my bed, and since he’s more or less house trained I don’t mind. I like that he jumps on the bed, and cuddles a bit but then he’ll get off at bed time and lay on the floor. His favourite spot to sleep isn’t his dog bed, it’s under my bed half under/half not. Right beside the bed, where I would have to step to get off the bed.
I’ve noticed Shadow’s finally relaxing more around the house, he’s starting to get into a routine. He still follows me everywhere, especially at bedtime he waits for me to come up with him to my room. In the mornings Shadow is clingy likes to cuddle with me on my bed once the kids are up. He’ll typically wait for me to come downstairs before he spends his day in on the mainfloor. When I’m on the couch during the day, Shadow likes to come and lay on the couch beside me.
I love when he does his deep content dog sigh.
Also as most good dogs Shadow’s earned himself some nicknames in the short 3 months he’s been here. We still call him by his name but a lot of the time we’ll call him; “Waaguu”, “Mr.Waaguu”, “Doodle”, “Doodlebug”, “ShadShad”, and “Mr.Shadow.”
I’ve also taught him a couple not so good “habits”, how to “boop” someone with his paw, that brushings usually get him a treat, that he’s allowed to lick the mashed potato bowl when we’re done using it. Ooops…. but I mean he’s adorable right?
