On Sunday 28 August 2016, baby Zara was welcomed into our home and into our lives! She was 9 weeks old and weighed a hefty 10 kilograms. Now, two weeks on, we cannot imagine life without this bundle of big personality yet gentle natured baby girl. She is absolutely gorgeous and we are besotted. Oscar on the other hand is not quite sure what to do with his baby sister. I have come to the conclusion that Oscar does not believe he is a dog but in fact a human!!! He watches her for hours play with her toys, she tries so hard to get him to join in but he just gives her a side eye as if to say “I am not one of you.” Of course it could be worse and they could be at each other’s throats, I am very thankful they are not. I guess with time Oscar will learn how to interact with Zara.

I can already see in the two weeks they have been together he has warmed up to her. They drink out the same water bowl and she slowly creeps onto the bottom corner of his bed at night. She even gives him a sneaky little lick on the bacon lips which he doesn’t mind, but of course I have to pretend I didn’t see a thing-haha!

In two weeks she has grown so much. She has put on 3 kilograms and outgrown her puppy pyjamas! You have to savour the puppy moments because before you know it they are gone. I am convinced after every nap she takes she wakes up bigger.

As soon as she is 12 weeks old she will be starting puppy school. We cannot wait for her to start, interact with some dogs her own age and learn a little discipline. I will be totally honest, she is super intelligent and she already knows her name, commands like sit, stay and slowly getting her to fetch the ball and bring it back. Puppy school will open her mind to learn new things and hopefully make some friends. Oscar will come along for some moral support and hopefully learn that he is in fact A DOG!

While having a puppy is the greatest privilege in the world, you have to be prepared and have everything she will need to ensure she settles in and is as comfortable as possible, here is a list of some goodies we got for Zara before her arrival-

Puppy food: It is extremely important that your new puppy is fed the right food, Zara is a Rottweiler so she needs a special formulated food to meet her specific growth needs. She is on a super premium brand which offers her absolutely everything she needs to grow up into a healthy adult. Always feed your furry loves the best possible food you can afford and please do some research, what may appear to be premium, may not always be!

Puppy bowls: We initially bought Zara a cute bone shaped bowl for her kibble and a cute water bowl to match, little did we know that our baby would be a food guzzler! She can eat one cup of her food in less than a minute… This is not healthy for her so we bought her a slow feed bowl. This is the best invention ever-I wish I had invented it!! She now eats more calmly and actually chews her kibble. Meal times are not such a feeding frenzy anymore.

A comfy bed: It was important for Zara to have her own bed and her own space. And it was also important that she had the same as Oscar! I can’t have favourites, they are both my babies and they both need to be spoilt. They both have a proper little bed, with pillows and a duvet and of course a teddy to cuddle up with. Zara tries to get into bed with Oscar every night and of course he is not keen on that idea just yet-I keep telling her to give him some time!

Toys: Puppies need toys, lots of toys! Luckily Oscar has two big baskets filled with various squeaky and fluffy toys which he only plays with occasionally. Zara did get some new toys of her own so she knew she was special too. Oscar has no issue with Zara playing with or demolishing his toys. I think he knows he will just get new ones-yes he is a spoilt brat, but I cannot help it 🙂

Love: Your new puppy will need tons of love and affection! There is no such thing as giving your puppy too much love. She needs to feel included and apart of your family. She is the one in a new environment and it is your job to make her feel welcome.

But most of all, enjoy having a puppy around. Enjoy the puppy breath. Enjoy the shark teeth biting your ankles as you walk. Because before you know it she will be all grown up…

Thank you for reading

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