Our New Puppy

I am sure there are going to be many posts on this topic, but this is the first.  We are getting a puppy!  It will be approximately 10 weeks until we actually have the puppy, as she is not even born yet.  In fact, we don't even know if the dog will have a female puppy, as there's no way of telling until the litter is born.  They are due on 18 February, and we have first choice on a female puppy.  I've no particular reason for wanting a female, as it will be spayed anyway, but for some reason I do.  However, I may change my mind if she only has boys...

The (future) puppy's parents are called Matilda and Mandrake, and they look a little like this:

Matilda, the mother, is a tri-colour Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Mandrake, the father, is a apricot toy poodle.

The colour of the puppies is yet to be seen, but the last litter was caramel and white.  By the way, those aren't actual pictures of the parents, they're just pictures from google images, all credit given to whoever took the photos... it wasn't me!

Our next step is to puppy proof the apartment.  This shouldn't be too hard.  The main changes will be keeping the doors to the bedrooms closed (the bedrooms are carpeted, that doesn't combine well with a potty-training puppy!) taping down the cables to the sound system, keeping our shoes in order (I don't like the idea of chewed shoes) and finding somewhere out of reach to put Kurt's x-box controllers and remotes!

The guitar will probably be moved to the bedroom.

Oh did I mention, the puppy will look a little bit like this:

Maybe.  It might have patches of white, or black, or who knows really?  Apparently they look like little mice when they're born but I'll be able to see the colour to choose anyway.

They grow to about 30cm high (1 foot) at the shoulder, and should be a lot more active than the likes of a chihuahua so I should be able to go for a slow jog or fast walk with the dog.  I am definitely not a handbag puppy person...

Also, hopefully due to having the poodle father, the puppy should be either no-shed or low-shed.  That of course is the plan, although with having a Cavalier mother (which is high-shed) the rules of the genetics are that the puppy could inherit any of the parents' traits so... luck of the draw, a little.  Anyway, Cavoodles (the cross) are usually low-shed and intelligent creatures as both Cavaliers and Poodles are intelligent dogs.  They are bred as companion/family dogs.

Matilda is having an ultrasound in 2 weeks (which is weird because the pups are due in 2 weeks...) and then I will find out how many puppies she is having.