We had a little anniversary in the house over the weekend. It’s been twelve months since we brought Poppy home from the Blue Cross. It’s gone so quickly but in some respects, it’s like we’ve had her forever!

We’ve had some adventures, some scary, like when she choked on her food, and some brilliant, like our holiday in Cornwall. Everyday she does something new that surprises us. When she yawns, she often howls a bit, which is hilarious! We’re always getting stopped when we walk her, because people are curious about her or think she’s adorable (which she is!)

We’re always working on her training and getting her to improve her behaviour. At the moment we’re working on reducing her separation anxiety. The other night, she barked for almost the whole hour while we were at the pub. So we’re going to get some help with a 1-2-1 training session from a local dog trainer. In the meantime, we’re trying the mat & kong system that we saw on Dogs: Their Secret Lives. After just a few days, it’s going really well. She’ll sit and stay on her mat while she chews her kong. We’ve gone as far as to stay in the kitchen while this happens, so tomorrow we’ll be moving into a completely different room. Fingers crossed!

I can’t wait to see what the next 12 months has in store for us and Poppy, hopefully a few more lie ins, as Poppy is very much an early bird! I’m so pleased we adopted her and were able to give her a happy home.