We got a dog! Meet Izzy, the labrador(k)

Ever since we moved to our new house, the kids had been going on and on about getting a pet.

It’s entirely my fault; I promised them at some point in the distant past – quite possibly after a trip to the pub – that when we owned a house again I’d get them some guinea pigs, and they didn’t forget it. The longing for a pet grew and became ‘wanting a puppy’, and to be honest I was probably encouraging it.

Living next to the park we would see loads of very excellent good boys and girls every day, and I really did miss having a dog around; although our house is frequently chaos with four noisy children tearing around, there’s just as much time when it’s just me and I’m bimbling about on my own not really knowing what to do with myself while my partner is away with work.

I was starting to really like the idea of a new best friend.

I think I probably spent too much time watching Instagram reels of cute golden retrievers doing daft things. Actually, that’s a lie. I’m not sure there is such a thing as ‘too much time’ and I’d recommend it to anyone. It’s the best use of social media there is.

However the sensible part of my brain agreed with my partner; a puppy – albeit very, very cute – would be hard work. I got my first dog at a year old so I had no experience with very young dogs, but I did know they wake you up at night and have to be taught where to pee and poo. I’d done all that with two kids and can’t say it was my favourite thing ever.

The problem is of course, that well trained, friendly family dogs aged a year or so are quite hard to come by, because people don’t tend to put in all the hard work of training and socialising puppies to rehome them a year later. My previous dog was a rescue mutt, but he came to live with us before the kids. Luckily he was great with them, but most rescues won’t rehome with children particularly if, like him, their history is unknown.

And so, we agreed that we wouldn’t be rushing into anything.

We could wait for the perfect dog – a good sized family dog such as a Labrador, or a Golden Retriever, ideally – to come along one day.

…Which is the exact conversation we were having with my partner’s sister, just one day before she sent us a video of a bouncy one-year-old yellow Labrador called Zeta and told us she might be looking for a new home.

Zeta had been part of a litter the previous year, the result of a mating between two pedigree black labs. The dad’s owner – a very dedicated working spaniel and Labrador breeder – had requested that if there happened to be any yellow girl pups born from his two litters that she get first dibs, and ended up with two half-sisters. They’d been trained and really well socialised, but Zeta was a little ‘heavy set’ for agility work (I relate) and she had been thinking that she might prefer a nice family sofa to a working dog life.

It didn’t take us long to contact the breeder and arrange a visit.

Zeta was irresistibly friendly, happy and bouncy. It took us no time at all to decide that it was too good to turn down. We wanted her to come home with us and a few days later, she did.

When she arrived on Friday evening, she was in absolute crazy mode; snout in everything and panting like a maniac. We very soon discovered that no surface was safe (and if you put your wine down for more than a second she would attempt to drink it for you).

Fortunately she had been crate trained and after some snack-based bribery to get in, slept well in the night. By the following morning she’d calmed down a lot and has continued to relax since – as I type at my desk she is asleep on my feet.

She has even started responding to her new name, Izzy.

It was really hard not to mention anything to the kids, because I’m a big overexcited child myself when it comes to fun surprises, but when they came home and met her in the garden their faces absolutely lit up. In fact they were both excited on the first day that they woke up and got dressed for school before 6am, which was great as you can imagine. The oldest was told off for yawning repeatedly in class and they were both asleep by 8pm that night – a record.

They’ve never been as keen to walk to school, despite it being over half an hour each way. To help her settle in, I’ve not been to the gym so far this week, but I’ve more than doubled my usual step count even without the regular 5ks.

Things Izzy likes include food, sleep, other dogs, food, ‘washing’ dishes, licking, people, licking people, eating tissues, food, my slippers and food.

Things she dislikes include retrieving things (you threw it, you get it), dog toys, and waiting for food.

She’s a lovely dog who enjoys her walks and trots along calmly by your side, but is always excited to meet new people and other dogs. Izzy has been with us for less than a week and I’ve genuinely spoken to more people in the village during that time than in the entirety of the previous two years put together. I’m not in love with it, but I’m tolerating it.

Her doggy manners are impeccable, although she’s proving perhaps a little too popular with the boys which has been a bit awkward. Still, it’s a good conversation opener for the kids.

Welcome to the family!

If you enjoyed this and you’re feeling generous, you can buy me a cup of tea or a glass of wine (or a dog treat) here.

You can also see my Amazon wish list here.