Preparing for Training a Puppy

A big part of being a responsible dog owner, is training your puppy to obey commands. It’s a long time since I last did this; in fact, it was pre-Internet, which tells you how long ago it was, and we largely managed this by guesswork and trial-and-error rather than actually knowing what to do.

I’m taking a different approach this time by doing research prior to the puppy arriving. I’ve been using the Internet, but also came a cross a book which seemed to get positive mentions, so picked up a copy.

That book is Total Recall (not the one of which you’re thinking) by Pippa Mattinson:

Total Recall book cover

I’m not far into the book yet, but it seems to make sense and I will, in three weeks be looking to put it to the test when Hodi arrives. I’ll be reporting on our progress when that time comes, but for now, I’ll continue reading.

The Saga of Hodi Begins

It has been a long time since I last had a dog, but, with changes to my job, I have decided that it is time to get one.

I work as an IT consultant and used to be travelling a lot for work, but since 2020 clients have realised that much work can be accomplished remotely with meetings and collaboration through tools like Microsoft Teams, Jira and Confluence. Therefore I only have to travel a handful of days a year.

I decided that I would get a Springer Spaniel, as I like walking and live in a rural Northumberland village, with both the National Park and Kielder Forest nearby, giving ample places for us to walk. I also decided that I would prefer a female dog.

However, as I started looking at litters I reconsidered both of my decisions regarding the type and sex. As well as looking at Springers, I also started looking at Cocker Spaniels (which are similar to, but smaller than, Springer Spaniels) and also that rather than looking for a particular sex of puppy I would view litters and see if any puppy stood out.

Continue reading “The Saga of Hodi Begins”